A novel CuFe-based catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline media

作者：He Qinggang; Yang Xiaofang; Ren Xiaoming; Koel Bruce E; Ramaswamy Nagappan; Mukerjee Sanjeev; Kostecki Robert^*

来源：Journal of Power Sources, 2011, 196(18): 7404-7410.

DOI：10.1016/j.jpowsour.2011.04.016

• Alkaline fuel cell
• Oxygen reduction reaction
• Non-noble electrocatalyst
• CuFe

The primary objective of this work is to develop alternative electrocatalysts to Pt-based materials for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline fuel cells. We synthesized a bicore CuFe/C composite electrocatalyst by impregnation of iron and copper phthalocyanine-based complexes into a carbon support, followed by pyrolysis at 800-900 degrees C in an Ar atmosphere. This novel composite catalyst exhibits electrochemical performance for ORR in 0.1 M KOH similar to a commercial Pt/C (BASF Fuel Cell. 30%) catalyst at 6-fold lower CuFe loading. High resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HR-XPS) results indicate that coordination bonding between Fe and N atoms still remains and show that a mixed Cu(I)/Cu(II) valency exists in the CuFe/C catalyst after high temperature heat treatment. The Cu(I)/Cu(II) redox mediator adjacent to Fe atoms is crucial to provide electrons to the NxFe-O-2 adduct and maximize the overall rate of the reduction reaction. The results of this study may offer a new approach to development of efficient catalysts for oxygen reduction to water in alkaline media.

• 出版日期2011-9-15
• 单位东北大学