A novel biomass-derived, N-doped carbon catalyst for fuel cell cathodes is synthesized using nod as the precursor and melamine as the promoter. The catalyst is characterized using various physicochemical techniques as well as electrochemical analysis. The results show that the catalyst has a graphene-like structure and that its ORR activity is comparable or even superior to that of Johnson Matthey Pt/C catalyst in 0.1 M KOH medium. It also exhibits excellent tolerance to methanol and impressive stability, showing almost no deterioration after 10,000 cyclic voltammetry cycles. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.