Hierarchically mesoporous carbon spheres coated with a single atomic Fe–N–C layer for balancing activity and mass transfer in fuel cells

Carbon Energy

Xiao‐dong Yang¹  Xiaohua Yang²  Wei Tang³  Zhuofan Gan³  Chengyong Shu³  Yan Liu⁴  Qiang Tan⁴  Yuping Wu⁵  Hui Jin⁶  Chao Fan⁶  Wei Du⁷  Chengwei Deng⁷ 

[1] College of Materials Science and Engineering Huaqiao University Xiamen China;Institute of Quantum and Sustainable Technology (IQST), School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Jiangsu University Zhenjiang China;School of Chemical Engineering and Technology Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an China;State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, School of Material Science and Engineering Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an China;State Key Laboratory of Materials‐Oriented Chemical Engineering, School of Energy Science and Engineering and Institute of Advanced Materials Nanjing Tech University Nanjing China;State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an China;State Key Laboratory of Space Power‐Sources Technology Shanghai Institute of Space Power Sources Shanghai China;

关键词: fuel cell;    hierarchically mesoporous carbon spheres;    oxygen reduction reaction;    single‐atom catalysts;   

DOI  :  10.1002/cey2.136

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Novel cost‐effective fuel cells have become more attractive due to the demands for rare and expensive platinum‐group metal (PGM) catalysts for mitigating the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The high‐cost PGM catalyst in fuel cells can be replaced by Earth‐abundant transition‐metal‐based catalysts, that is, an Fe–N–C catalyst, which is considered one of the most promising alternatives. However, the performance of the Fe–N–C catalyst is hindered by the low catalytic activity and poor stability, which is caused by insufficient active sites and the lack of optimization of the triple‐phase interface for mass transportation. Herein, a novel Fe–N–C catalyst consisting of mono‐dispersed hierarchically mesoporous carbon sphere cores and single Fe atom‐dispersed functional shells are presented. The synergistic effect between highly dispersed Fe‐active sites and well‐organized porous structures yields the combination of high ORR activity and high mass transfer performance. The half‐wave potential of the catalyst in 0.1 M H2SO4 is 0.82 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode, and the peak power density is 812 mW·cm−2 in H2–O2 fuel cells. Furthermore, it shows superior methanol tolerance, which is almost immune to methanol poisoning and generates up to 162 mW·cm−2 power density in direct methanol fuel cells.

【 授权许可】

Unknown