Yogesh Kumar , Elo Kibena-Põldsepp , Srinu Akula , Jekaterina Kozlova , Arvo Kikas , Jaan Aruväli , Vambola Kisand , Kaupo Kukli , Kaido Tammeveski
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
The focus in the development of catalysts doped with transition metals aims to replace platinum group metal catalysts in fuel cells. However, these non-precious metal catalysts exhibit limited performance in acidic environment for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) due to issues such as metal agglomeration and the subsequent loss of active sites. Herein, we synthesised catalysts doped with iron and nitrogen on a composite material consisting of carbide-derived carbon (CDC) and graphene (G), employing an additional nitrogen source dicyandiamide (DCDA), denoted as FeN-CDC/G/DCDA. Our physico-chemical analysis unveiled that the inclusion of DCDA was effective in mitigating metal agglomeration during the synthesis process and increasing the presence of Fe-Nx sites in the catalysts. Notably, the FeN-CDC/G/DCDA catalyst exhibited enhanced ORR activity in acid media with half-wave potential (E1/2) of 0.76 V, surpassing the performance of the FeN-CDC/G catalyst, which had an E1/2 value of 0.70 V. Furthermore, the rotating ring-disk electrode results indicated a reduced formation of hydrogen peroxide when employing the FeN-CDC/G/DCDA catalyst. The findings from this study represent a significant step towards the development of efficient catalysts for fuel cells, underscoring the pivotal role of additional nitrogen doping and its positive impact on the ORR performance.
期刊介绍:
Electrochemistry Communications is an open access journal providing fast dissemination of short communications, full communications and mini reviews covering the whole field of electrochemistry which merit urgent publication. Short communications are limited to a maximum of 20,000 characters (including spaces) while full communications and mini reviews are limited to 25,000 characters (including spaces). Supplementary information is permitted for full communications and mini reviews but not for short communications. We aim to be the fastest journal in electrochemistry for these types of papers.