Membrane-less Direct Formate Fuel Cell Using an Fe–N-Doped Bamboo Internode as the Binder-Free and Monolithic Air-Breathing Cathode

Abstract

Commercial applications of direct liquid fuel cells require a high-performance, cost-effective, robust, and mechanically/chemically stable cathode for the oxygen reduction reaction. In this study, a membrane-less direct formate fuel cell (DFFC) was constructed by using a Fe–N-doped bamboo internode as the binder-free and monolithic air-breathing cathode and a Pd-electrodeposited graphite rod as the anode. The effect of the preparation procedures including alkali activation, pyrolysis with (NH4)3PO4, and solvothermal treatment with iron phthalocyanine on the physicochemical properties of the cathode is studied with respect to the textural structure, electrical conductivity, and heteroatom incorporation. The results indicated that the resulting cathode exhibited proper distribution of primary/secondary pores for the transport of reactants and ions. Additionally, these procedures effectively increased the electrical conductivity and heteroatom incorporation in the carbon matrix of the as-obtained cathode. The fabricated membrane-less DFFC delivered an open-circuit voltage of 1.04 V and a maximum power density of 10.01 ± 0.16 mW cm–3 with a limiting current density of 48.95 ± 1.84 mA cm–3. In addition, this DFFC achieved a high columbic efficiency of 92.3% after 7 h of discharge with one-fueling. Furthermore, the 110 h discharge test at 10 mA cm–3 demonstrated that the DFFC fabricated with the Fe–N-doped bamboo internode cathode exhibited good stability, showing its promising application as an inexpensive power supply in portable electronics.

Hydrogen storage as liquid solar fuels

“…1, 91 where the voltages and peak power densities with the use of PdAg/NiNF and PdAu/NiNF anodes are higher than those of the commercial Pd/C anode, outperforming other passive air-breathing formate fuel cells reported in the literature. 92–98…”

“…1, 91 where the voltages and peak power densities with the use of PdAg/NiNF and PdAu/NiNF anodes are higher than those of the commercial Pd/C anode, outperforming other passive air-breathing formate fuel cells reported in the literature. [92][93][94][95][96][97][98] Scheme 1 Catalytic CO 2 reduction to HCOOH by H 2 in water. 76 Scheme 2 Proposed mechanism of the 2e…”

Bamboo charcoal as electrode material for vanadium redox flow batteries

“…[1][2][3] However, research groups worldwide are exploring different materials as precursors for carbon-based electrodes. Bio-derived materials such as bamboo charcoal are attractive for different energy storage applications such as microbial fuel cells, 4,5 solar thermal energy storage devices, 6,7 and supercapacitors. 8 Additionally, many research groups are inspired by bamboo's natural channel structure and fabricate electrode materials with bamboo-like structures, which show promising behavior for the electrochemical performance.…”

“…During this thermal treatment, the characteristic porous structure of the bamboo is preserved, and the obtained Bamboo Charcoal (BC) has a high electrical conductivity. 4,7 Due to bamboo's high abundance and fast growth, BC is a cheap bio-derived material. It can be used as BC tubes 4,5,7 or ground to BC powder 13 to prepare an electrode.…”

“…4,7 Due to bamboo's high abundance and fast growth, BC is a cheap bio-derived material. It can be used as BC tubes 4,5,7 or ground to BC powder 13 to prepare an electrode.…”