Environmentally Friendly Bifunctional Catalyst for ORR and OER from Coconut Shell Particles

Abstract

Catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is at the heart of key renewable energy technologies such as water splitting and rechargeable batteries. But developing a low-cost oxygen electrode catalyst with high activity at low overpotential remains a great challenge. Coconut shells can be utilized as suitable raw material to produce activated carbon for enhanced adsorption capacity, bulk density, and hardness to be used as regenerative fuel cells running ORR and OER. The present work is designed to obtain an alternative to noble metal-based catalysts by synthesizing electroactive N-doped porous carbon from coconut shells; the use of biodegradable raw material through a single-step activation followed by nitrogen doping provides a more economical and environmentally friendly route to produce green catalysts for fuel cell applications. In valorization of biomass for the development of novel catalytic materials, our aim is also to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals. N-doped activated carbon shows promising bifunctional catalyst for ORR and OER as low-cost noble-metal-free and carbon-based oxygen catalysts.