Fe/N/C catalysts are very active for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR); however, the nature of the active site(s) is not fully understood. In this work, we study the performance of different types of N/C and Fe/N/C catalysts for the ORR, and the effect of the addition of NaCN. Phthalocyanine and graphene have been studied as model metal-free catalysts for the ORR. Fe-phthalocyanine (FePhcy), Fe-phthalocyanine dispersed in graphene (FePhcy/G) and Fe/N/G, have been used as model Fe-containing catalysts. FePhcy and FePhcy/G only contain Fe atoms coordinated to 4 nitrogen atoms. On the other hand, different species such as Fe-Nx and Fe3C coexist in Fe/N/G. In addition, C-C ensembles are present in the graphene present in FePhcy/G and Fe/N/G. The ORR activity is characteristic of each catalyst, being the highest for the catalysts containing FeN4 ensembles. The addition of CN- results in the selective poisoning of the Fe containing sites but it does not suppress the ORR activity of the Graphene containing samples. In-situ infrared spectroscopy studies during the ORR reveal that CN- poisoning of the Fe sites is reversible, desorbing at potentials less positive than ca. 600 mV. As a consequence, the ORR activity of the Fe containing sites is recovered gradually. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.