The present invention provides a microbial-based
biochar, a microbial-based single-atom
iron catalyst, and a preparation method and application thereof. Microorganisms with
high nitrogen content are used as precursors of
biochar. Compared with plants, microorganisms are rich in heteroatoms such as N, O, P, etc., and a large number of C-N structures can be obtained.
Transition metal iron is loaded on the surface of the
biochar by a chemical method to prepare a microbial-based single-atom
iron catalyst. During the
carbonization process of the catalyst, Fe species will not
agglomerate to form iron oxides, but will be uniformly dispersed on the surface of the microbial-based biochar in the form of single iron atoms and atoms such as N and O, and abundant
nitrogen is distributed around the iron to form Fe-C-N active centers, thereby obtaining a
biocomposite single-atom iron material with
high oxygen reduction catalytic activity,
methanol resistance and stability. The preparation material is low in price, the process is simple, the catalytic performance is better than that of commercial
platinum-carbon catalysts, and the catalyst has the potential to replace
precious metal catalysts.