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Hierarchical porous N-doped graphene foams with superior oxygen reduction reactivity for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

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  • Zhou, Xuejun
  • Tang, Sheng
  • Yin, Yan
  • Sun, Shuihui
  • Qiao, Jinli

Abstract

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is one of the most important processes in energy conversion and conservation such as in fuel cells, metal–air batteries and water-splitting devices. In this work, hierarchical porous N-doped graphene foams (HPGFs) functioned by a transition metal were successfully prepared using silica nanoparticles as a template. The introduction of a silica template and a transition metal provided HPGFs with a large specific surface area (918.7m2/g) and abundant active sites. By selecting proper nitrogen precursors (cyanamide, melamine and urea), HPGFs exhibit excellent ORR catalytic activity in 0.1M KOH with a high onset potential of 1.03V and a limiting current of ∼9mAcm−2, even better than that of commercial Pt/C catalysts at the same loading. Surprisingly, they show superior catalytic activity in an acidic medium with an onset potential of 0.81V and a limiting current reaching ∼10mAcm−2. Furthermore, the catalysts deliver good methanol tolerance and excellent long term durability after 5000 cycles of accelerated durability tests in both acidic and alkaline solutions, much better than that of a commercial Pt/C catalyst. Very inspiring cell performance was observed with HPGF-1 catalyst upon integration into a zinc–air battery. Our study presents an experimental realization of rationally designing a highly efficient ORR electrocatalyst for electrochemical energy conversion systems particular to fuel cells and metal–air batteries.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhou, Xuejun & Tang, Sheng & Yin, Yan & Sun, Shuihui & Qiao, Jinli, 2016. "Hierarchical porous N-doped graphene foams with superior oxygen reduction reactivity for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 459-467.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:175:y:2016:i:c:p:459-467
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.03.066
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pei, Pucheng & Wang, Keliang & Ma, Ze, 2014. "Technologies for extending zinc–air battery’s cyclelife: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 315-324.
    2. Pei, Pucheng & Chen, Huicui, 2014. "Main factors affecting the lifetime of Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cells in vehicle applications: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 60-75.
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    Cited by:

    1. Pei, Pucheng & Huang, Shangwei & Chen, Dongfang & Li, Yuehua & Wu, Ziyao & Ren, Peng & Wang, Keliang & Jia, Xiaoning, 2019. "A high-energy-density and long-stable-performance zinc-air fuel cell system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C), pages 124-129.
    2. Nandan, Ravi & Goswami, Gopal Krishna & Nanda, Karuna Kar, 2017. "Direct synthesis of Pt-free catalyst on gas diffusion layer of fuel cell and usage of high boiling point fuels for efficient utilization of waste heat," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 1050-1058.
    3. Ghosh, Arpita & Chandran, Priji & Ramaprabhu, S., 2017. "Palladium-nitrogen coordinated cobalt alloy towards hydrogen oxidation and oxygen reduction reactions with high catalytic activity in renewable energy generations of proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 37-48.
    4. Zhong, Kengqiang & Li, Meng & Yang, Yue & Zhang, Hongguo & Zhang, Bopeng & Tang, Jinfeng & Yan, Jia & Su, Minhua & Yang, Zhiquan, 2019. "Nitrogen-doped biochar derived from watermelon rind as oxygen reduction catalyst in air cathode microbial fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 516-525.
    5. She, Yiyi & Chen, Jinfan & Zhang, Chengxu & Lu, Zhouguang & Ni, Meng & Sit, Patrick H.-L. & Leung, Michael K.H., 2018. "Nitrogen-doped graphene derived from ionic liquid as metal-free catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction and its mechanisms," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 513-521.

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