Abstract
The high cost of noble metals is a barrier to widespread commercialization of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. Platinum-group-metal-free catalysts are a promising low-cost alternative for catalyzing the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Herein, we report a high activity Fe-N-C cathode catalyst derived from a Fe-porphyrinic framework prepared using low-cost precursors and facile one pot synthesis followed by a single heat treatment. The final product has atomically dispersed iron in proximity to nitrogen groups that share transition metal characteristics, as described by electron energy loss spectrometry and x-ray absorption near edge structure results. Electrochemical studies on a rotating ring-disk electrode indicate a four-electron transfer mechanism for the ORR. Membrane electrode assembly testing of the Fe-porphyrin-derived cathode catalyst shows a high kinetic current density of 22 mA cm-2 at 0.9 V in H2-O2 fuel cells.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 043008 |
| Journal | PRX Energy |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 2023 |
Funding
Funding was provided by the US DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, under the ElectroCat Consortium, DOE technology managers D. Peterson and D. Papageorgopolous. Microscopy research was performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s CNMS, which is a U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science User Facility. This work made use of the Advanced Photon Source of Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), at DND-CAT (Sector 5), which is supported by E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., Northwestern University, and The Dow Chemical Co. This work made use of KECK II facilities of Northwestern University’s NUANCE Center, which has received support from the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF ECCS-1542205). This work made use of the IMSERC facility at Northwestern University, which has received support from the NSF (CHE-1048773 and DMR-0521267). This work was produced by Battelle Savannah River Alliance, LLC under Contract No. 89303321CEM000080 with the U.S. Department of Energy.