Issue 8, 2017

Facile ionothermal synthesis of mesoporous Fe–Nx–C composites as efficient catalysts for oxygen reduction in acid media

Abstract

The development of high performance non-precious catalysts is still significant for the promising wide application of proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. In this work, a facile ionothermal polymerization approach was developed to synthesize highly active covalent triazine framework (CTF) derived Fe–Nx–C catalysts for mediating the cathodic reaction of fuel cells. The impacts of the heating temperature, dosage of ZnCl2, and dinitrile aromatic monomers on the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity of Fe–Nx–C catalysts were systematically discussed. High performance CTF-derived Fe–Nx–C catalysts were successfully obtained, among which the FB7 exhibits an extraordinary ORR performance in 0.1 M HClO4 aqueous solution. The linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) results show that there are only 14 mV and 25 mV slightly negative shifts of the onset potential (Eonset) and half-wave potential (E1/2) of FB7 comparing with those of commercial Pt/C (20 μg Pt per cm2). Besides, FB7 also shows better electrochemical stability and methanol-tolerance than Pt/C. This outstanding ORR performance of FB7 is attributed to its excellent percolation properties and high density of active sites.

Graphical abstract: Facile ionothermal synthesis of mesoporous Fe–Nx–C composites as efficient catalysts for oxygen reduction in acid media

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
26 Nov 2016
Accepted
23 Jan 2017
First published
23 Jan 2017

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2017,5, 3832-3838

Facile ionothermal synthesis of mesoporous Fe–Nx–C composites as efficient catalysts for oxygen reduction in acid media

L. Tong, Z. Shao, Y. Qian and W. Li, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2017, 5, 3832 DOI: 10.1039/C6TA10190A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements