N-doped porous carbon from Sargassum spp. As efficient metal-free electrocatalysts for O2 reduction in alkaline fuel cells
This work reports the synthesis of N-doped porous carbon (NPC) with a high surface area from Sargassum spp. as a low-cost alternative for electrocatalyst production for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Sargassum spp. was activated with potassium hydroxide at different temperatures (700, 750, and...
| Autores: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2019 |
| País: | México |
| Institución: | Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán |
| Repositorio: | Repositorio Institucional CICY |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:cicy.repositorioinstitucional.mx:1003/1543 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://cicy.repositorioinstitucional.mx/jspui/handle/1003/1543 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | info:eu-repo/classification/Autores/N-DOPED POROUS CARBON info:eu-repo/classification/Autores/SARGASSUM SPP. info:eu-repo/classification/Autores/OXYGEN REDUCTION REACTION info:eu-repo/classification/Autores/ALKALINE FUEL CELL info:eu-repo/classification/cti/7 |
| Sumario: | This work reports the synthesis of N-doped porous carbon (NPC) with a high surface area from Sargassum spp. as a low-cost alternative for electrocatalyst production for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Sargassum spp. was activated with potassium hydroxide at different temperatures (700, 750, and 800 °C) and then doped with pyridine (N700, N750, and N800). As a result of the activation process, the 800 °C sample showed a high surface area (2765 m 2 g −1 ) and good onset potential (0.870 V) and current density (4.87 mA cm −2 ). The ORR performance of the electrocatalysts in terms of their current density was N800 > N750 > N700 > 750 > 800 > 700, while the onset potential decreased in the following order: N800 > 800 > 750 > 700 > N700 > N750. The fuel cell performance of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) prepared with electrocatalyst synthesized at 750 °C and doped with pyridine was 12.72 mW cm −2 , which was close to that from Pt/C MEA on both the anode and cathode (14.42 mW cm −2 ). These results indicate that NPCs are an alternative to the problem of Sargassum spp. accumulation in the Caribbean due to their high efficiency as electrocatalysts for ORR. |
|---|