A novel CuFe-based catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline media

Qinggang He; Xiaofang Yang; Xiaoming Ren; Bruce E. Koel; Nagappan Ramaswamy; Sanjeev Mukerjee; Robert Kostecki

doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2011.04.016

A novel CuFe-based catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline media

Qinggang He, Xiaofang Yang, Xiaoming Ren, Bruce E. Koel, Nagappan Ramaswamy, Sanjeev Mukerjee, Robert Kostecki

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

70 Scopus citations

Abstract

The primary objective of this work is to develop alternative electrocatalysts to Pt-based materials for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline fuel cells. We synthesized a bicore CuFe/C composite electrocatalyst by impregnation of iron and copper phthalocyanine-based complexes into a carbon support, followed by pyrolysis at 800-900°C in an Ar atmosphere. This novel composite catalyst exhibits electrochemical performance for ORR in 0.1 M KOH similar to a commercial Pt/C (BASF Fuel Cell, 30%) catalyst at 6-fold lower CuFe loading. High resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HR-XPS) results indicate that coordination bonding between Fe and N atoms still remains and show that a mixed Cu(I)/Cu(II) valency exists in the CuFe/C catalyst after high temperature heat treatment. The Cu(I)/Cu(II) redox mediator adjacent to Fe atoms is crucial to provide electrons to the N_xFe-O₂ adduct and maximize the overall rate of the reduction reaction. The results of this study may offer a new approach to development of efficient catalysts for oxygen reduction to water in alkaline media.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	7404-7410
Number of pages	7
Journal	Journal of Power Sources
Volume	196
Issue number	18
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2011.04.016
State	Published - Sep 15 2011

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Energy Engineering and Power Technology
Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Keywords

Alkaline fuel cell
CuFe
Non-noble electrocatalyst
Oxygen reduction reaction

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10.1016/j.jpowsour.2011.04.016

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title = "A novel CuFe-based catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline media",

abstract = "The primary objective of this work is to develop alternative electrocatalysts to Pt-based materials for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline fuel cells. We synthesized a bicore CuFe/C composite electrocatalyst by impregnation of iron and copper phthalocyanine-based complexes into a carbon support, followed by pyrolysis at 800-900°C in an Ar atmosphere. This novel composite catalyst exhibits electrochemical performance for ORR in 0.1 M KOH similar to a commercial Pt/C (BASF Fuel Cell, 30%) catalyst at 6-fold lower CuFe loading. High resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HR-XPS) results indicate that coordination bonding between Fe and N atoms still remains and show that a mixed Cu(I)/Cu(II) valency exists in the CuFe/C catalyst after high temperature heat treatment. The Cu(I)/Cu(II) redox mediator adjacent to Fe atoms is crucial to provide electrons to the NxFe-O2 adduct and maximize the overall rate of the reduction reaction. The results of this study may offer a new approach to development of efficient catalysts for oxygen reduction to water in alkaline media.",

keywords = "Alkaline fuel cell, CuFe, Non-noble electrocatalyst, Oxygen reduction reaction",

author = "Qinggang He and Xiaofang Yang and Xiaoming Ren and Koel, {Bruce E.} and Nagappan Ramaswamy and Sanjeev Mukerjee and Robert Kostecki",

note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Infrastructure Technologies of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. Part of this work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0616644. The authors would like to thank Dr. Agust{\'i}n Bueno Lopez for assistance with the TEM experiments. ",

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doi = "10.1016/j.jpowsour.2011.04.016",

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T1 - A novel CuFe-based catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline media

AU - He, Qinggang

AU - Yang, Xiaofang

AU - Ren, Xiaoming

AU - Koel, Bruce E.

AU - Ramaswamy, Nagappan

AU - Mukerjee, Sanjeev

AU - Kostecki, Robert

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Infrastructure Technologies of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. Part of this work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0616644. The authors would like to thank Dr. Agustín Bueno Lopez for assistance with the TEM experiments.

PY - 2011/9/15

Y1 - 2011/9/15

N2 - The primary objective of this work is to develop alternative electrocatalysts to Pt-based materials for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline fuel cells. We synthesized a bicore CuFe/C composite electrocatalyst by impregnation of iron and copper phthalocyanine-based complexes into a carbon support, followed by pyrolysis at 800-900°C in an Ar atmosphere. This novel composite catalyst exhibits electrochemical performance for ORR in 0.1 M KOH similar to a commercial Pt/C (BASF Fuel Cell, 30%) catalyst at 6-fold lower CuFe loading. High resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HR-XPS) results indicate that coordination bonding between Fe and N atoms still remains and show that a mixed Cu(I)/Cu(II) valency exists in the CuFe/C catalyst after high temperature heat treatment. The Cu(I)/Cu(II) redox mediator adjacent to Fe atoms is crucial to provide electrons to the NxFe-O2 adduct and maximize the overall rate of the reduction reaction. The results of this study may offer a new approach to development of efficient catalysts for oxygen reduction to water in alkaline media.

AB - The primary objective of this work is to develop alternative electrocatalysts to Pt-based materials for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline fuel cells. We synthesized a bicore CuFe/C composite electrocatalyst by impregnation of iron and copper phthalocyanine-based complexes into a carbon support, followed by pyrolysis at 800-900°C in an Ar atmosphere. This novel composite catalyst exhibits electrochemical performance for ORR in 0.1 M KOH similar to a commercial Pt/C (BASF Fuel Cell, 30%) catalyst at 6-fold lower CuFe loading. High resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HR-XPS) results indicate that coordination bonding between Fe and N atoms still remains and show that a mixed Cu(I)/Cu(II) valency exists in the CuFe/C catalyst after high temperature heat treatment. The Cu(I)/Cu(II) redox mediator adjacent to Fe atoms is crucial to provide electrons to the NxFe-O2 adduct and maximize the overall rate of the reduction reaction. The results of this study may offer a new approach to development of efficient catalysts for oxygen reduction to water in alkaline media.

KW - Alkaline fuel cell

KW - CuFe

KW - Non-noble electrocatalyst

KW - Oxygen reduction reaction

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JO - Journal of Power Sources

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ER -

A novel CuFe-based catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline media

Abstract

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Keywords

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