Abstract
Metal macrocycle based non-noble metal electrocatalysts (NNMEs) with highly efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity, good stability, and excellent resistance to the methanol cross-over effect have been regarded as one of the most important alternatives for Pt or Pt based alloys, which are widely used in fuel cells. However, the expensive price of most metal macrocycles hinder further investigation of such a family of NNMEs in large production for practical applications. Here, we introduce a simple strategy to synthesize metal macrocycle based porous carbon (MMPC) material with low cost and easy production of metal macrocycles (hemin (Hm) and vitamin B12 (VB12)) as raw materials by using a hard template of MgO. The pyrolysis of MMPC under the optimal temperature at 900 °C shows comparative ORR performance relative to commercial Pt/C, which could be attributed to the large surface area, macro-/mesoporous structure, the carbon layer encapsulating transition metal based oxides, as well as N-doped carbon species. In addition, MMPC (900) displays a better electrochemical property than 20 wt % Pt/C in terms of durability and tolerance to methanol in O2-saturated 0.1 M KOH media.
Highlights
The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is a significant process in the cathodes of fuel cells, which is highly desirable to satisfy the urgent demand of electric vehicles
In this work we demonstrate a general and efficient strategy to fabricate dual metal-macrocycle based non-noble metal electrocatalysts (NNMEs) using the hard template synthesis and evaporation induced method
Is selected as the hard template because it can be removed by aqueous HCl solution
Summary
The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is a significant process in the cathodes of fuel cells, which is highly desirable to satisfy the urgent demand of electric vehicles. Based on the projected cost for large scale fuel cell production from the United States Department of Energy (DOE) in 2007, Pt-based electrocatalyst layers comprise 56% of the cost in a fuel cell stack [1,2]. At this juncture, the high price and scarcity of Pt is the crucial factor that limits the application of fuel cells in electric vehicles. Durable and earth-abundant alternatives with high performance, especially non-noble metal electrocatalysts (NNMEs), have been screened by virtue of advanced science and technology. Metal macrocycle (like porphyrin and phthalocyanine) based NNMEs are considered to be one of the most promising alternatives both in alkaline media and acidic solution
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