Efficient and sustainable synthesis of performant metal/nitrogen-doped
carbon (M–N–C) catalysts for oxygen reduction and evolution
reactions (ORR/OER) is vital for the global switch to green energy
technologies–fuel cells and metal–air batteries. This
study reports a solid-phase template-assisted mechanosynthesis of
Fe–N–C, featuring low-cost and sustainable FeCl3, 2,4,6-tri(2-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine (TPTZ), and NaCl. A
NaCl-templated Fe-TPTZ metal–organic material was formed using
facile liquid-assisted grinding/compression. With NaCl, the Fe-TPTZ
template-induced stability allows for a rapid, thus, energy-efficient
pyrolysis. Among the produced materials, 3D-FeNC-LAG exhibits remarkable
performance in ORR (E
1/2 = 0.85 V and E
onset = 1.00 V), OER (E
j=10 = 1.73 V), and in the zinc–air
battery test (power density of 139 mW cm–2). The
multilayer stream mapping (MSM) framework is presented as a tool for
creating a sustainability assessment protocol for the catalyst production
process. MSM employs time, cost, resource, and energy efficiency as
technoeconomic sustainability metrics to assess the potential upstream
impact. MSM analysis shows that the 3D-FeNC-LAG synthesis exhibits
90% overall process efficiency and 97.67% cost efficiency. The proposed
synthetic protocol requires 2 times less processing time and 3 times
less energy without compromising the catalyst efficiency, superior
to the most advanced methods.
The development of green energy conversion technologies and sophisticated energy storage devices are crucial for a sustainable future. Currently, metal-air batteries and fuel cells promise cost-effective, efficient and clean operation. However, highly active bifunctional noble-metal-free catalyst materials are needed to boost sluggish kinetics of oxygen electrode reactions for replacing conventional benchmark catalysts (Pt/C; RuO2/IrO2). Herein, we report highly active manganese and cobalt containing metal-organic framework (MOF)-derived bifunctional electrocatalyst with rich porous and well-dispersed structure. Mn/Co-containing material displayed excellent electrocatalytic performance toward both oxygen evolution and reduction reactions (Ej=10 =1.66 V; E1/2 = 0.85 V vs RHE, 0.1 M KOH) due to the desired active sites and architecture. Proposed bifunctional electrocatalyst was also tested in Zn-air battery setup and demonstrated outstanding durability within 10 h cycling without any noticeable degradation and great efficiency with high power density.
The production of various green fuels and valuable chemicals from the electrocatalytic reduction of CO2, is gaining popularity as a method of CO2 removal and utilization. Out of the multitude of possible chemicals that can be produced by CO2 reduction, formate/formic acid shows the most promise, because of its various applications in hydrogen storage, chemical industry and in agriculture. Herein, we report the preparation method for a sustainable electrocatalyst for CO2 reduction into formate/formic acid. The bismuth based catalysts were prepared from affordable metal-organic-framework precursor called TAL-33. The samples prepared with the optimized carbonization temperature showed high Faradaic efficiency and durability, with very little loss of activity during the stability testing. To prove that the presence of metallic bismuth nanoparticles enhances the electroreduction of CO2 to formate, theoretical studies were conducted. DFT studies validated that indeed the presence of metallic bismuth sites are linked to the high selectivity of the catalysts.
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