The Synthesis And Performance Studies Of Fe-N/C Non-precious Metal Cathode Catalysts For Fuel Cells

Energy is the theme of today’s world. Seeking for the sustainabledevelopmental green energy is the precondition of social development. Directalcohol fuel cell (DAFC) is currently considered as the the most promising energysupply device of electric vehicles and portable appliance,with a lot of advantagessuch as high energy transfer efficiency, low operating temperature, abundantfuelsource, environment-friendly etc. While, because catalysts are based on preciousmetal, and the catalysts are by far the most expensive constituent of DAFC,accounting for more than half of the fuel cell’s cost, and then the high cost ofproducing DAFC restrictits further commercialization applications.Seeking for ainexpensive, efficient, durable catalyst alternatives to precious metal catalysts isturned into the urgent task.In this paper, we according to a simple synthesis prepareda series of iron, nitrogen-doped carbon complexes function as the cathodeelectrocatalyst of DAFC. The structure and the electroactivity of these iron,nitrogen-doped carbon catalysts were thoroughly characterized, and the main workare as follows:1. A non-precious metal catalysts with Fe-N/C structure was prepared, throughpyrolysis at hydrogen atmosphere, with polyaniline acted as carbon source andnitrogen source, prussian blue acted as precursor. The catalyst was characterizedwith Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectronspectroscopy (XPS). The electrochemical properties of the catalyst was tested inacidic, neutral, alkaline solution, respectively. the results showed that the catalysthave good oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalytic performance in differentmedia.2. A cathode catalysts for ORR with Fe-N-CNTs structure was prepared viathrough pyrolysis at inertia atmosphere, with carbon nanotubes acted as support,Polyaniline acted as nitrogen source formed at the carbon nanotubes, Ferrousammonium sulfate((NH4)2Fe(SO4)2.6H2O) acted as metal precursor. The catalystwas characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The catalytic properties of the catalysts foroxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was studied via electrochemical means.And theeffects of heat treatment temperatures and different metal content of the catalystperformance was studied. The results showed that: When the heat treatmenttemperature is700℃, Fe percentage content is6%, the Fe-N-CNTs catalyst havethe best electrochemical performance in alkaline medium,with good oxygenreduction reaction (ORR) catalytic performance, resistant to methanol properties,excellent stability and good electron selectivity.3. A cathode catalysts for ORR with Fe-N-GO structure was prepared via throughpyrolysis at inertia atmosphere, with graphene oxide(GO) acted as support,Phenanthroline(Phen) acted as nitrogen source, Ferrous ammoniumsulfate((NH4)2Fe(SO4)2.6H2O) acted as metal precursor. The catalyst wascharacterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-rayphotoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The catalytic properties of the catalysts foroxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was studied via electrochemical means. and theeffects of heat treatment temperatures and different metal content of the catalystperformance was studied. The results showed that: When the heat treatmenttemperature is800℃, Fe percentage content is6%, the Fe-N-GO catalyst have thebest electrochemical performance in alkaline medium,with good oxygen reductionreaction (ORR) catalytic performance, resistant to methanol properties, excellentstability and good electron selectivity.