Highly efficient metal free aldehyde-functionalized indoles for direct glucose fuel cell anode catalyst

Abstract

In this study, alternative organic catalysts to metal-containing catalysts for glucose electrooxidation were prepared by the Suzuki Miyaura coupling reaction method and characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). InTA-1, InPA-1, InFA-1, InTA-2, InPA-2, InFA-2, InTA-3, InFA-3, and InPA-3 were obtained with the yield of 74%, 82%, 72%, 70%, 75%, 68%, 60%, 71%, and 85%. Among the synthesized catalysts, the InTA-3 catalyst possesses the highest electrocatalytic activity (3.17 mA cm−2) and long-term stability compared to other organic catalysts. InTA-3 catalyst has the lowest charge transfer resistance toward glucose electrooxidation. It was concluded that as a metal-free catalyst, InTA-3 is a cheap and promising electrocatalyst for direct glucose fuel cell anode.