Journal
ACS CATALYSIS
Volume 2, Issue 12, Pages 2761-2768Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/cs300579b
Keywords
fuel cell; Fe-based catalysts; chemical model; active site
Categories
Funding
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
- University of Waterloo
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Fe-based oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst materials are considered promising nonprecious alternatives to traditional platinum-based catalysts. These catalyst materials are generally produced by high-temperature pyrolysis treatments of readily available carbon, nitrogen, and iron sources. Adequate control of the structure and active site formation during pyrolysis methods is nearly impossible. Thus, the chemical nature, structure, and ORR mechanism of catalytically active sites in these materials is a subject of significant debate. We have proposed a method, utilizing CN- ions as ORR inhibitors on Fe-based catalysts, to provide insight into the exact nature and chemistry of the catalytically active sites. Moreover, we propose two possible catalytically active site formation mechanisms occurring during high-temperature pyrolysis treatments, dependent on the specific type of precursor and synthesis methods utilized. We have further provided direct evidence of our proposed active site formations using ToF-SIMS negative and positive ion imaging. This knowledge will be beneficial to future work directed at the development of Fe-based catalysts with improved ORR activity and operational stabilities for fuel cell and battery applications.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available