Formation of Platinum-Free Fuel Cell Cathode Catalyst with Highly Developed Nanospace by Carbonizing Catalase

Abstract

The amount of platinum in the catalyst for the electrodes of polymer electrolyte fuel cells must be minimized to widely substitute this new energy system for conventional ones. In this study, a platinum-free catalyst for the cathodic oxygen reduction was formed from a natural organic compound, catalase. We carbonized catalase to produce a catalyst active in the superacidic atmosphere of the polymer electrolyte. Nitrogen adsorption onto the carbonized material revealed that the material had highly developed internal nanospaces, which were essential for exposing active sites to oxygen reduction on the pore surface. The carbonized material was also characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The activity for oxygen reduction was evaluated using rotating disk electrodes, forming a catalyst layer from the carbonized material and the polymer electrolyte on the electrode surface and immersing the layer in oxygen-saturated perchloric acid. The activity increased with the increase in the specific surface area and possibly the increase in the activity of the respective active sites. A preliminary fuel cell test using the material in the cathode confirmed the electricity generation, although the performance was inferior to a Pt-based fuel cell.

Multifunctional Co3S4/Graphene Composites for Lithium Ion Batteries and Oxygen Reduction Reaction

“…[12,13] But the major challenge associated with fuel cells is the high cost of the catalyst required for the cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). [14] To reduce the cost of fuel cells, the replacement of platinum with nonprecious metals or metal-free catalysts is necessary and some effort has been made to prepare platinum-free catalysts with promising performance, for example, carbonized catalysts, [15] cobalt-or iron-based catalysts, [14] tungsten carbides, [16] and transition-metal chalcogenides. [12,17,18] Transition-metal chalcogenides have been used in many fields, for example, in optical sensors, [19] optoelectronic devices, [20] magnetic devices, [21] and as catalysts.…”

Fe/N/C non-precious catalysts for PEM fuel cells: Influence of the structural parameters of pristine commercial carbon blacks on their activity for oxygen reduction

“…Several groups have since developed Fe/N/C and Co/N/C electrocatalysts and their work has been summarized in a recent review [3]. Since this review was written, several researchers (including our group) have continued to follow Yeager's steps and obtained Fe and Co-based catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) that are active in fuel cell conditions [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22].…”

What Can We Learn in Electrocatalysis, from Nanoparticulated Precious and/or Non-Precious Catalytic Centers Interacting with Their Support?

“…In PEMFCs the mass loading reduction of the expensive Pt is required to catalyze the HOR. Significant efforts have been made on the potential use of partial or complete replacement of Pt electrocatalyst at the cathode [107][108][109].…”