An efficient nickel hydrogen oxidation catalyst for hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cells

Ni, Weiyan; Wang, Teng; Héroguel, Florent; Krammer, Anna; Lee, Seunghwa; Yao, Liang; Schüler, Andreas; Luterbacher, Jeremy S.; Yan, Yushan; Hu, Xile

doi:10.1038/s41563-022-01221-5

“…7,10,13,14 Despite notable HOR/ORR properties of these PGM-free catalysts shown in rotating-disk-electrode (RDE) experiments, unfortunately, only very few previous attempts at exploring real PGMfree AEMFCs have been encouraging thus far. 11,12 Fundamentally different from the RDE conditions, catalysts in fuel cells suffer from a harsh operating environment, such as elevated temperature, 22,23 high current density, 24,25 and unfavorable catalyst−ionomer interactions, 26,27 which lead to easier catalyst degradation and deterioration in performance. Therefore, besides activity, the structural stability of catalysts that can endure the fuel cell working environment is another prerequisite for the implementation of PGM-free AEMFCs.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasma-Assisted Synthesis of Metal Nitrides for an Efficient Platinum-Group-Metal-Free Anion-Exchange-Membrane Fuel Cell

Zhang

¹

,

Wang

²

,

Shi

³

et al. 2022

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In comparison to the well-developed proton-exchangemembrane fuel cells, anion-exchange-membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) permit adoption of platinum-group-metal (PGM)-free catalysts due to the alkaline environment, giving a substantial cost reduction. However, previous AEMFCs have generally shown unsatisfactory performances due to the lack of effective PGM-free catalysts that can endure harsh fuel cell conditions. Here we report a plasma-assisted synthesis of highquality nickel nitride (Ni 3 N) and zirconium nitride (ZrN) employing dinitrogen as the nitrogen resource, exhibiting exceptional catalytic performances toward hydrogen oxidation and oxygen reduction in an alkaline enviroment, respectively. A PGM-free AEMFC assembled by using Ni 3 N as the anode and ZrN as the cathode delivers power densities of 256 mW cm −2 under an H 2 −O 2 condition and 151 mW cm −2 under an H 2 −air condition. Furthermore, the fuel cell shows no evidence of degradation after 25 h of operation. This work creates opportunities for developing high-performance and durable AEMFCs based on metal nitrides.

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“…Although the AEMFC performances are still inferior to those of Pt/C catalyst shown in Figure 5b, we note that our results are comparable to best‐in‐class devices with PGM‐free anodes so far, except for a Ni‐H 2 ‐NH 3 catalyst recently reported in ref. [8c] that however ran under a higher back pressure (200 kPa versus 250 kPa adopted in ref. [8c]) (Figure S29 and Table S4).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suppressing Electron Back‐Donation for a Highly CO‐tolerant Fuel Cell Anode Catalyst via Cobalt Modulation

Yu

¹

,

Gao

²

,

Zhang

³

et al. 2022

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Platinum on carbon (Pt/C) catalyst is commercially adopted in fuel cells but it undergoes formidable active‐site poisoning by carbon monoxide (CO). In particular, given the sluggish kinetics of hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) in anion‐exchange membrane fuel cell (AEMFC), the issues of Pt poisoning and slow rate would combine mutually, notably worsening the device performances. Here we overcome these challenges through incorporating cobalt (Co) into molybdenum‐nickel alloy (MoNi4), termed Co‐MoNi4, which not only shows superior HOR activity over the Pt/C catalyst in alkali, but more intriguingly exhibits excellent CO tolerance with only small activity decay after 10 000 cycles in the presence of 500 parts per million (ppm) CO. When feeding with CO (250 ppm)/H2, the AEMFC assembled by this catalyst yields a peak power density of 394 mW cm−2, far exceeding the Pt/C catalyst. Experimental and computational studies reveal that weakened CO chemisorption originates from the electron‐deficient Ni sites after Co incorporation that suppresses d→CO 2π* back‐donation.

show abstract

“…[8c] that however ran under a higher back pressure (200 kPa versus 250 kPa adopted in ref. [8c]) (Figure S29 and Table S4).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suppressing Electron Back‐Donation for a Highly CO‐tolerant Fuel Cell Anode Catalyst via Cobalt Modulation

Yu

¹

,

Gao

²

,

Zhang

³

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Platinum on carbon (Pt/C) catalyst is commercially adopted in fuel cells but it undergoes formidable active‐site poisoning by carbon monoxide (CO). In particular, given the sluggish kinetics of hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) in anion‐exchange membrane fuel cell (AEMFC), the issues of Pt poisoning and slow rate would combine mutually, notably worsening the device performances. Here we overcome these challenges through incorporating cobalt (Co) into molybdenum‐nickel alloy (MoNi4), termed Co‐MoNi4, which not only shows superior HOR activity over the Pt/C catalyst in alkali, but more intriguingly exhibits excellent CO tolerance with only small activity decay after 10 000 cycles in the presence of 500 parts per million (ppm) CO. When feeding with CO (250 ppm)/H2, the AEMFC assembled by this catalyst yields a peak power density of 394 mW cm−2, far exceeding the Pt/C catalyst. Experimental and computational studies reveal that weakened CO chemisorption originates from the electron‐deficient Ni sites after Co incorporation that suppresses d→CO 2π* back‐donation.

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An efficient nickel hydrogen oxidation catalyst for hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cells

Cited by 134 publications

References 51 publications

Plasma-Assisted Synthesis of Metal Nitrides for an Efficient Platinum-Group-Metal-Free Anion-Exchange-Membrane Fuel Cell

Plasma-Assisted Synthesis of Metal Nitrides for an Efficient Platinum-Group-Metal-Free Anion-Exchange-Membrane Fuel Cell

Suppressing Electron Back‐Donation for a Highly CO‐tolerant Fuel Cell Anode Catalyst via Cobalt Modulation

Suppressing Electron Back‐Donation for a Highly CO‐tolerant Fuel Cell Anode Catalyst via Cobalt Modulation

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