Fe-N-C Catalyst Graphitic Layer Structure and Fuel Cell Performance

Michael J. Workman, Alexey Serov, Lok Kun Tsui, Plamen Atanassov, Kateryna Artyushkova

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

111 Scopus citations

Abstract

For targeted development of platinum group metal-free (PGM-free) catalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cell applications, it is critically important to elucidate the catalytic moieties of Fe-N-C materials as they relate to the structure and morphology of the graphitic layers of carbon, the catalyst basic building blocks. In this Letter, X-ray diffraction analysis with a carbon-specific structure refinement algorithm was performed on 12 Fe-N-C catalysts. Samples with fewer graphitic layers exhibit increased kinetic performance in fuel cell testing. This trend is consistent with the dominant active species residing within the graphitic plane as opposed to at the edges. We also report the performance of an optimized catalyst based on structure-property predictions derived in a recently published report. This catalyst produces 0.44 mA cm-2 at 0.85 V and has a maximum power density of 490 mW cm-2 in 1 bar O2 (not iR corrected).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1489-1493
Number of pages5
JournalACS Energy Letters
Volume2
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 14 2017
Externally publishedYes

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge support from the University of New Mexico Center for Micro-Engineered Materials and NSF GRFP Grant No. 1418062.

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