Converting biomass into efficient oxygen reduction reaction catalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Abstract

It is urgent to develop low-cost but efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts for the emerging clean energy devices of fuel cells based on proton exchange membrane. Herein, we report a facile method to covert the biomass of black fungus into an efficient ORR catalyst. The black fungus undergoes hydrothermal and pyrolysis processes to transform into carbon-based materials. The as-obtained BF-N-950 catalyst shows prominent ORR catalytic activities in both acidic and alkaline electrolytes with a half-wave potential reaching 0.77 and 0.91 V, respectively. A membrane electrolyte assembly was fabricated with the as-obtained BF-N-950 as the cathode catalyst which shows a high peak power density of 255 mW cm−2. The study shows the potential of converting conventional biomass into low-cost ORR catalyst, which is promising for the fuel cell technology.