Journal
APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL
Volume 204, Issue -, Pages 394-402Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.apcatb.2016.11.029
Keywords
Nitrogen-doped carbon; Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR); Coconut shells; Electrocatalyst; Fuel cells
Funding
- Academy of Finland's Centre of Excellence in Molecular Engineering of Biosynthetic Hybrid Materials (HYBER)
- Estonian Ministry of Education and Research [IUT20-16]
- EU through the European Regional Development Fund (Advanced materials and high-technology devices for energy recuperation systems) [TK141]
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This study introduces a new, environmentally-friendly method to synthesize N,P-doped porous carbon by high conversion (46% yield) of coconut shell residues for the reduction of oxygen in alkaline media. The obtained materials display an excellent electrocatalytic activity, making them suitable as cathode catalyst for alkaline fuel cells. The synthesis procedure included an efficient single-step activation with phosphoric acid to achieve high surface area (1216 m(2) g(-1)) and pore volume (1.15 cm(3) g(-1) with 72% mesopores). Urea was used as a low-cost and ecologically-sound source for nitrogen doping of the as-synthesized porous carbon. Remarkably, the biomass-derived electroactive carbon demonstrates a superior performance compared to a reference material, the state-of-the-art commercial Pt-C catalyst: (a) comparable electrocatalytic activity; (b) better tolerance to methanol crossover effects and, (c) improved long-term durability towards oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline media. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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