Fe–N–C electrocatalyst with dense active sites and efficient mass transport for high-performance proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Wan, Xin; Liu, Xiaofang; Li, Yongcheng; Yu, Ronghai; Zheng, Lirong; Yan, Wensheng; Wang, Hui; Xu, Ming; Shui, Jianglan

doi:10.1038/s41929-019-0237-3

Cited by 1,132 publications

(884 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…[2,3] Particularly,t he advance in alkaline membrane technologies has stimulated intensive studies on HzOR to be used in practical HzFCs. [4] In this context, enormous efforts have been devoted towards developing efficient, low-cost anode electrocatalysts for HzOR to replace the costly state-of-the-art platinum (Pt) based nanomaterials, [5][6][7] along with optimizing the electrode fabrication craft. [8,9] Recently,s ingle-atom catalysts,e specially atomically dispersed metals anchored on conductive nitrogen (N)-doped carbons (AMCs), have been intensively studied for numerous applications [10][11][12][13][14][15] because of their maximized atom utilization, unusual electronic structure and intriguing properties that differ from their nanoparticles (NPs) counterpart in terms of that is,improved activity and/or selectivity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atomically Dispersed Semimetallic Selenium on Porous Carbon Membrane as an Electrode for Hydrazine Fuel Cells

Wang

et al. 2019

Angew Chem Int Ed

112

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Electrochemically functional porous membranes of low cost are appealing in various electrochemical devices used in modern environmental and energy technologies.H erein we describe as calable strategy to construct electrochemically active,h ierarchically porous carbon membranes containing atomically dispersed semi-metallic Se,d enoted SeNCM. The isolated Se atoms were stabilized by carbon atoms in the form of ah exatomic ring structure,i nw hich the Se atoms were located at the edges of graphitic domains in SeNCM. This configuration is different from that of previously reported transition/noble metal single atom catalysts.T he positively charged Se,e nlarged graphitic layers,r obust electrochemical nature of SeNCM endow them with excellent catalytic activity that is superior to state-of-the-art commercial Pt/C catalyst. It also has long-term operational stability for hydrazine oxidation reaction in practical hydrazine fuel cell.Supportinginformation and the ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under: https://doi.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atomically Dispersed Semimetallic Selenium on Porous Carbon Membrane as an Electrode for Hydrazine Fuel Cells

Wang

et al. 2019

Angew Chem Int Ed

112

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“…Moreover, such Zn–air batteries steadily lighted up red light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) in series more than ten days, promising their potential utilization for powering electronic devices (Figure S30, Supporting Information). Additionally, the SA‐Fe‐NHPC electrocatalyst also demonstrated good ORR activity with an E 1/2 of 0.76 V in acidic solution (Figure S31 and Table S4, Supporting Information). When used for cathode catalyst in proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), the SA‐Fe‐NHPC could generate a peak power density of 0.423 and 0.244 W cm −2 under H 2 –O 2 and H 2 –air condition, respectively (Figure S32, Supporting Information).…”

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confidence: 99%

Zinc‐Mediated Template Synthesis of Fe‐N‐C Electrocatalysts with Densely Accessible Fe‐N_x Active Sites for Efficient Oxygen Reduction

et al. 2020

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Owing to their earth abundance, high atom utilization, and excellent activity, single iron atoms dispersed on nitrogen‐doped carbons (Fe‐N‐C) have emerged as appealing alternatives to noble‐metal platinum (Pt) for catalyzing the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, the ORR activity of current Fe‐N‐C is seriously limited by the low density and inferior exposure of active Fe‐Nx species. Here, a novel zinc‐mediated template synthesis strategy is demonstrated for constructing densely exposed Fe‐Nx moieties on hierarchically porous carbon (SA‐Fe‐NHPC). During the thermal treatment of 2,6‐diaminopyridine/ZnFe/SiO2 complex, the zinc prevents the formation of iron carbide nanoparticles and the SiO2 template promotes the generation of hierarchically pores for substantially improving the accessibility of Fe‐Nx moieties after subsequent leaching. As a result, the SA‐Fe‐NHPC electrocatalysts exhibit an unprecedentedly high ORR activity with a half‐wave potential (E1/2) of 0.93 V in a 0.1 m KOH aqueous solution, which outperforms those for Pt/C catalyst and state‐of‐the‐art noble metal‐free electrocatalysts. As the air electrode in zinc–air batteries, the SA‐Fe‐NHPC demonstrates a large peak power density of 266.4 mW cm−2 and superior long‐term stability. Therefore, the developed zinc‐mediated template synthesis strategy for boosting the density and accessibility of Fe‐Nx species paves a new avenue toward high‐performance ORR electrocatalysts.

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“…The design of efficient and stable materials for electrochemical energy devices, such as electrolyzers, fuel cells and metal–air batteries is of intense academic and industrial interest. Research effort has focused on exploring cost‐effective and earth‐abundant transition metals, e.g., Mn, Fe, Co and Ni, oxides as alternatives to expensive noble metals for large‐scale application in these renewable energy technologies .…”

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confidence: 99%

Rational Design of Spinel Cobalt Vanadate Oxide Co₂VO₄ for Superior Electrocatalysis

et al. 2020

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Electrochemical energy devices, such as fuel cells and metal–air batteries, convert chemical energy directly into electricity without adverse environmental impact. Attractive alternatives to expensive noble metals used in these renewable energy technologies are earth‐abundant transition metal oxides. However, they are often limited by catalytic and conductive capabilities. Here reported is a spinel oxide, Co2VO4, by marrying metallic vanadium atomic chains with electroactive cobalt cations for superior oxygen reduction reaction (ORR)—a key process for fuel cells, metal–air batteries, etc. The experimental and simulated electron energy‐loss spectroscopy analyses reveal that Co2+ cations at the octahedral sites take the low spin state with one eg electron (t2g6eg1), favoring advantageous ORR energetics. Measurement of actual electrical conductivity confirms that Co2VO4 has several orders of magnitude increase when compared with benchmark cobalt oxides. As a result, a zinc–air battery with new spinel cobalt vanadate oxide as the ORR catalyst shows excellent performance, together with a record‐high discharge peak power density of 380 mW cm−2. Crucially, this is superior to state‐of‐the‐art Pt/C‐based device and is greatest among zinc–air batteries assembled with metal, metal oxide, and carbon catalysts. The findings present a new design strategy for highly active and conductive oxide materials for a wide range of electrocatalytic applications, including ORR, oxygen evolution, and hydrogen evolution reactions.

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Fe–N–C electrocatalyst with dense active sites and efficient mass transport for high-performance proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Cited by 1,132 publications

References 54 publications

Atomically Dispersed Semimetallic Selenium on Porous Carbon Membrane as an Electrode for Hydrazine Fuel Cells

Atomically Dispersed Semimetallic Selenium on Porous Carbon Membrane as an Electrode for Hydrazine Fuel Cells

Zinc‐Mediated Template Synthesis of Fe‐N‐C Electrocatalysts with Densely Accessible Fe‐N_x Active Sites for Efficient Oxygen Reduction

Rational Design of Spinel Cobalt Vanadate Oxide Co₂VO₄ for Superior Electrocatalysis

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Fe–N–C electrocatalyst with dense active sites and efficient mass transport for high-performance proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Cited by 1,132 publications

References 54 publications

Atomically Dispersed Semimetallic Selenium on Porous Carbon Membrane as an Electrode for Hydrazine Fuel Cells

Atomically Dispersed Semimetallic Selenium on Porous Carbon Membrane as an Electrode for Hydrazine Fuel Cells

Zinc‐Mediated Template Synthesis of Fe‐N‐C Electrocatalysts with Densely Accessible Fe‐Nx Active Sites for Efficient Oxygen Reduction

Rational Design of Spinel Cobalt Vanadate Oxide Co2VO4 for Superior Electrocatalysis

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Zinc‐Mediated Template Synthesis of Fe‐N‐C Electrocatalysts with Densely Accessible Fe‐N_x Active Sites for Efficient Oxygen Reduction

Rational Design of Spinel Cobalt Vanadate Oxide Co₂VO₄ for Superior Electrocatalysis