Abstract
Co-N-C and Fe-N-C electrocatalysts have been prepared by mixing Fe or Co precursors, ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA) as a nitrogen source, and an oxidized carbon. These materials were thermally treated at 800 °C or 1000 °C under nitrogen flow to produce four samples, named CoNC8, CoNC10, FeNC8, and FeNC10. They have been physicochemically characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) analyses have been carried out to investigate the performance of the nonprecious cathode catalysts, using a low amount of Pt (0.7 mg/cm2) at the anode side. It appears that FeNC8 is the best performing low-cost cathode catalyst in terms of higher oxygen reduction reaction activity and methanol tolerance.
Highlights
Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) technology is very promising for portable power source applications [1–4]
The methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) occurs at the anode onto Pt-based catalysts [5–7], whereas the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) occurs at the cathode, in this case usually based on Pt catalysts [8–12]
The surface characteristics of the catalysts were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM)
Summary
Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) technology is very promising for portable power source applications [1–4]. Catalysts, such as N-doped carbon [15–19] or metal-nitrogen-carbon (Me-N-C) [20–26], have attracted remarkable interest in the last decades for their promising performance and the great abundance of their precursors in the earth. Another issue to be solved for DMFC technology is the methanol crossover from the anode to the cathode side through the membrane. This effect generates a mixed potential at the cathode that decreases the overall efficiency. The mentioned catalysts deposited at the cathode of a DMFC have been electrochemically characterized to evaluate their performance.
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