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CoO x -Fe 3 O 4 /N-rGO Oxygen Reduction Catalyst for Anion-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

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Listed:
  • Ramesh K. Singh

    (The Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel
    CO2 Research and Green Technologies Centre, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore 632014, Tamil Nadu, India)

  • John C. Douglin

    (The Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel)

  • Lanjie Jiang

    (The Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel)

  • Karam Yassin

    (The Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel)

  • Simon Brandon

    (The Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel)

  • Dario R. Dekel

    (The Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel
    The Nancy & Stephen Grand Technion Energy Program (GTEP), Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel)

Abstract

Platinum group metal (PGM)-free oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts are of utmost importance for the rapid development of anion-exchange membrane fuel cell (AEMFC) technology. In this work, we demonstrate the improved ORR performance and stability of Co and Fe oxide-decorated/N-doped reduced graphene oxide (CoO x -Fe 3 O 4 /N-rGO) prepared via a hydrothermal method at the low temperature of 150 °C. The catalysts were characterized thoroughly using transmission electron microscopy, high-angle annular dark field-scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, N 2 physisorption, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to obtain information about morphology, elemental distribution, phases, porosity, defects, and surface elemental compositions. Significant ORR activity improvement (130 mV@-1.5 mA cm −2 ) was achieved with this catalyst compared to the pristine graphene oxide, and the ORR limiting current was even 12%@0.5 V higher than the commercial Pt/C. The enhanced ORR activity of CoO x -Fe 3 O 4 /N-rGO was attributed to the uniform dispersion of Co, Fe, and N on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets. Furthermore, ORR accelerated stress tests revealed excellent durability, suggesting that this material could be a promising and durable catalyst. With a cathode layer of the CoO x -Fe 3 O 4 /N-rGO catalyst, we achieved a peak power density of 676 mW cm −2 in an operando H 2 -O 2 AEMFC. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest reported power density per cathode catalyst mass in a reported PGM-free cathode catalyst. Finally, we quantified the various cell polarization losses as a function of cathode catalyst loadings to obtain insights for future work with AEMFCs based on this catalyst. The improvement in the AEMFC performance using CoO x -Fe 3 O 4 /N-rGO as a cathode catalyst can be attributed to the synergistic effects of (i) the high turnover frequency of the transition metals (Co and Fe) for ORR and (ii) the enhancement provided by N doping to the metal distribution and stability.

Suggested Citation

  • Ramesh K. Singh & John C. Douglin & Lanjie Jiang & Karam Yassin & Simon Brandon & Dario R. Dekel, 2023. "CoO x -Fe 3 O 4 /N-rGO Oxygen Reduction Catalyst for Anion-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-18, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:8:p:3425-:d:1122695
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rajesh Bashyam & Piotr Zelenay, 2006. "A class of non-precious metal composite catalysts for fuel cells," Nature, Nature, vol. 443(7107), pages 63-66, September.
    2. Van Men Truong & Julian Richard Tolchard & Jørgen Svendby & Maidhily Manikandan & Hamish A. Miller & Svein Sunde & Hsiharng Yang & Dario R. Dekel & Alejandro Oyarce Barnett, 2020. "Platinum and Platinum Group Metal-Free Catalysts for Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-21, January.
    3. Xin Liu & Na Xie & Jiandang Xue & Mengyuan Li & Chenyang Zheng & Junfeng Zhang & Yanzhou Qin & Yan Yin & Dario R. Dekel & Michael D. Guiver, 2022. "Magnetic-field-oriented mixed-valence-stabilized ferrocenium anion-exchange membranes for fuel cells," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 7(4), pages 329-339, April.
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