Abstract: A carbon black-supported cost-effective carrier, the mesoporous carbon precursors with a lot of defects, were prepared by the hydrothermal method. After adding chloroplatinic acid and calcining at high temperature, the oxygen reduction catalyst of mesoporous carbon materials loaded with platinum nanoparticles was obtained. The composition and morphology of the prepared catalyst were characterized by a series of test methods. Combined with the activity and stability of the catalyst in the electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in acidic electrolyte, the potential law of oxygen defect on carbon materials and the electrochemical properties of the material itself was explored. The half-wave potential of Pt/BP_a (a stands for acid treatment) catalyst prepared under acidic condition is 0.829 V. After 10000 circles of the CV test, the half-wave potential decreases by 0.009 V, showing that the catalytic effect and stability are better than that of commercial Pt/C catalyst in the voltage range of 0.3~0.8 V. The electron transfer number of ORR with Pt/BP_a catalyst is approximately 3.98 and the intermediate product yields of H₂O₂ are all lower than 5%. It is further proved that the Pt/BP_a catalyst is in an effective four-electron process during the oxygen reduction reaction, is expected to be a commercial alternative to Pt/C, and also has great application prospect in the future fuel cell field.

Key words: Mesoporous carbon, Defects, Platinum, Oxygen reduction reaction, Fuel cell, Highly active