Abstract
The goal of this research was to synthesize activated nitrogen-doped nanocarbons with high specific surface area and adjustable pore size distribution using wood charcoal as a raw material. The resulting carbon materials were tested for possible application as oxygen reduction reaction catalysts in alkaline media. Activated carbons were obtained using a thermochemical activation method with NaOH. Nitrogen was introduced into activated carbons using dicyandiamide solution. It was demonstrated that the content of introduced nitrogen depends on oxygen content in the structure of the activated carbon. The oxygen reduction reaction activity of the activated and nitrogen-doped carbon material was comparable with a commercial 20% Pt/C catalyst. Electrocatalytic properties of the synthesized N-doped wood-derived carbon catalysts may be associated with the highly developed surface area, specific ratio of micro- and mesopores, as well as the high percentage of pyridinic nitrogen.
Highlights
Nowadays, energy consumption is constantly increasing and the development of effective and cheap electrochemical power sources is gaining more and more attention.Fuel cells are considered one of the most important technologies, among the others, because of their high efficiency [1], grid-independence and longer operating times, in comparison to battery technologies [2]
Despite having already been used in 1960 by NASA for the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs [3] and many research efforts to improve their performance, as well as the efficiency and durability of fuel cells, they still have not succeeded in large-scale commercialization [4,5]
There is a number of studies devoted to oxygen-reduction catalysts on porous carbonaceous materials, which can be obtained by carbonizing renewable biomass, such as lignocellulose, sugar, chitosan, mulberry leaves, animal biomass, natural fibers, haddock peel, dandelion seeds, gelatin, chitin, etc
Summary
Energy consumption is constantly increasing and the development of effective and cheap electrochemical power sources is gaining more and more attention.Fuel cells are considered one of the most important technologies, among the others, because of their high efficiency [1], grid-independence and longer operating times, in comparison to battery technologies [2]. The development of catalysts aimed to replace platinum-group metals is the most important issue in fuel-cell design [1]. The application of biomass-derived, N-doped carbons as novel metal-free cathode catalysts for oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) to transform chemical energy into electricity is the current and prospective approach to the use of carbon materials [8]. There is a number of studies devoted to oxygen-reduction catalysts on porous carbonaceous materials, which can be obtained by carbonizing renewable biomass, such as lignocellulose, sugar, chitosan, mulberry leaves, animal biomass, natural fibers, haddock peel, dandelion seeds, gelatin, chitin, etc.
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