Biomimetic Fe-Cu Porphyrrole Aerogel Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Yeela Persky, Łukasz Kielesiński, Samala Nagaprasad Reddy, Noam Zion, Ariel Friedman, Hilah C. Honig, Beata Koszarna, Michael J. Zachman, Ilya Grinberg, Daniel T. Gryko, Lior Elbaz

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

The development of bioinspired catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction is one of the most prominent pathways in the search for active materials to replace Pt-based catalysts in fuel cells. Herein, we report innovative bioinspired catalysts using a directed synthetic pathway to create adjacent Cu and Fe sites. This catalyst is composed of a covalent 3D framework in an aerogel form. Aerogels are high surface area and porous hierarchical structures that can allow the formation of ultrahigh active site density and optimized mass transport of reactants and products to and from the catalytic sites. The aerogel-based catalyst exhibits high performance in a half-cell in 0.1 M KOH, with an onset potential of 0.94 V vs RHE and half-wave potential of E1/2 = 0.80 V vs RHE, high selectivity toward the four-electron reduction of oxygen to hydroxide anions, and high durability. These results are well-translated to the anion exchange membrane fuel cell (AEMFC), reaching an open circuit potential of 0.97 V and iR-corrected peak power density of 0.51 W cm-2. Based on density functional theory calculations, the improved activity relative to the Fe-porphyrin and Cu-corrole is ascribed to the effect of the extended carbon network and the proximity of the metal sites.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)11012-11022
Number of pages11
JournalACS Catalysis
Volume13
Issue number16
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 18 2023

Funding

This work was supported by the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology, the Israeli Ministry of Energy, and the Israel Science Foundation. Y.P. would like to thank The Israeli Smart Transportation Research Center (ISTRC) for (partially) funding her research. This research is also support by the Israeli ministry of energy as part of the scholarships program for undergraduate and graduate students in the discipline of energy. This work was supported as well as by the Polish National Science Center, Poland (HARMONIA 2018/30/M/ST5/00460). Electron microscopy research was supported by the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), which is a U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science User Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

FundersFunder number
Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences
discipline of energy
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Science
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Israeli Smart Transportation Research Center
Israel Science Foundation
Narodowe Centrum Nauki2018/30/M/ST5/00460
Ministry of Science and Technology, Israel
Ministry of Energy, Israel

    Keywords

    • PGM-free
    • aerogel
    • corrole
    • electrocatalysis
    • oxygen reduction reaction
    • porphyrin

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