Fuel cell studies on a non-noble metal catalyst prepared by a template-assisted synthesis route

The catalytic activity of a templated catalyst material (Fe-N-C), prepared using FeCl(3), pyrrole, and a mesoporous silica gel as template, was investigated. The oxygen reduction reaction activity of the catalyst material was measured using the rotating ring-disk electrode technique, revealing an onset potential of about 0.85 V vs a reversible hydrogen electrode. The catalytic activity of the prepared sample was also tested in a 5 cm(2) fuel cell for different catalyst loadings using oxygen or air atmospheres. Fuel cell polarization measurements were recorded at 75 degrees C. The power densities varied between 0.032 and 0.095 W/cm(2) for different catalyst loadings when oxygen was used. In addition, durability tests were carried out by keeping the cell at 0.6 V for 16 h. The current densities decayed to about 25% of the initial value during this period. The results are compared to state-of-the-art results from the literature. The templated catalyst shows comparable activity to the best catalysts in the literature but its durability requires improvement. (C) 2008 The Electrochemical Society.