skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: A Strategy for Increasing the Efficiency of the Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Mn-Doped Cobalt Ferrites

Abstract

Alkaline fuel cells have drawn increasing attention as next-generation energy-conversion devices for electrical vehicles, since high pH enables the use of non-precious-metal catalysts. Herein, we report on a family of rationally designed Mn-doped cobalt ferrite (MCF) spinel nanocrystals, with an optimal composition Mn 0.8(CoFe 2) 0.73O 4 (MCF-0.8), that are effective electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction. MCF-0.8 exhibits a half-wave potential (E 1/2) of 0.89 V vs RHE in 1 M NaOH, only 0.02 V less than that of commercial Pt/C under identical testing conditions and, to the best of our knowledge, one of the highest recorded values in the literature. Moreover, MCF-0.8 exhibits remarkable durability (ΔE 1/2 = 0.014 V) after 10 000 electrochemical cycles. In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) reveals that the superior performance of the trimetallic MCF-0.8 originates from the synergistic catalytic effect of Mn and Co, while Fe helps preserve the spinel structure during cycling. We employed in situ XAS to track the evolution of the oxidation states and the metal–oxygen distances not only under constant applied potentials (steady state) but also during dynamic cyclic voltammetry (CV) (nonsteady state). The periodic conversion between Mn(III, IV)/Co(III) and Mn(II, III)/Co(II) as well as the essentially constantmore » oxidation state of Fe during the CV suggests collaboration efforts among Mn, Co, and Fe. Mn and Co serve as the synergistic coactive sites to catalyze the oxygen reduction, apparently resulting in the observed high activity, while Fe works to maintain the integrity of the spinel structure, likely contributing to the remarkable durability of the catalyst. Furthermore, these findings provide a mechanistic understanding of the electrocatalytic processes of trimetallic oxides under real-time fuel cell operating conditions. This approach provides a new strategy to design high-performance non-precious-metal electrocatalysts for alkaline fuel cells.« less

Authors:
 [1]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [1]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Alkaline-Based Energy+B11:C29 Solutions (CABES); Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); Center for Alkaline-Based Energy Solutions (CABES); Center for Energy Materials at Cornell (emc2); National Science Foundation Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (NSF MRSEC); National Science Foundation (NSF)
OSTI Identifier:
1566595
Grant/Contract Number:  
SC0019445; DMR-1719875; DMR-1332208
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of the American Chemical Society
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 141; Journal Issue: 10; Journal ID: ISSN 0002-7863
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; catalysis (heterogeneous); electrocatalysis; hydrogen and fuel cells; charge transport; membranes; water; materials and chemistry by design; synthesis (novel materials); redox reactions; x-rays; spinel; oxides; transition metals

Citation Formats

Xiong, Yin, Yang, Yao, Feng, Xinran, DiSalvo, Francis J., and Abruña, Héctor D. A Strategy for Increasing the Efficiency of the Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Mn-Doped Cobalt Ferrites. United States: N. p., 2019. Web. doi:10.1021/jacs.8b13296.
Copy to clipboard
Xiong, Yin, Yang, Yao, Feng, Xinran, DiSalvo, Francis J., & Abruña, Héctor D. A Strategy for Increasing the Efficiency of the Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Mn-Doped Cobalt Ferrites. United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.8b13296
Copy to clipboard
Xiong, Yin, Yang, Yao, Feng, Xinran, DiSalvo, Francis J., and Abruña, Héctor D. Thu . "A Strategy for Increasing the Efficiency of the Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Mn-Doped Cobalt Ferrites". United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.8b13296. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1566595.
Copy to clipboard
@article{osti_1566595,
title = {A Strategy for Increasing the Efficiency of the Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Mn-Doped Cobalt Ferrites},
author = {Xiong, Yin and Yang, Yao and Feng, Xinran and DiSalvo, Francis J. and Abruña, Héctor D.},
abstractNote = {Alkaline fuel cells have drawn increasing attention as next-generation energy-conversion devices for electrical vehicles, since high pH enables the use of non-precious-metal catalysts. Herein, we report on a family of rationally designed Mn-doped cobalt ferrite (MCF) spinel nanocrystals, with an optimal composition Mn0.8(CoFe2)0.73O4 (MCF-0.8), that are effective electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction. MCF-0.8 exhibits a half-wave potential (E1/2) of 0.89 V vs RHE in 1 M NaOH, only 0.02 V less than that of commercial Pt/C under identical testing conditions and, to the best of our knowledge, one of the highest recorded values in the literature. Moreover, MCF-0.8 exhibits remarkable durability (ΔE1/2 = 0.014 V) after 10 000 electrochemical cycles. In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) reveals that the superior performance of the trimetallic MCF-0.8 originates from the synergistic catalytic effect of Mn and Co, while Fe helps preserve the spinel structure during cycling. We employed in situ XAS to track the evolution of the oxidation states and the metal–oxygen distances not only under constant applied potentials (steady state) but also during dynamic cyclic voltammetry (CV) (nonsteady state). The periodic conversion between Mn(III, IV)/Co(III) and Mn(II, III)/Co(II) as well as the essentially constant oxidation state of Fe during the CV suggests collaboration efforts among Mn, Co, and Fe. Mn and Co serve as the synergistic coactive sites to catalyze the oxygen reduction, apparently resulting in the observed high activity, while Fe works to maintain the integrity of the spinel structure, likely contributing to the remarkable durability of the catalyst. Furthermore, these findings provide a mechanistic understanding of the electrocatalytic processes of trimetallic oxides under real-time fuel cell operating conditions. This approach provides a new strategy to design high-performance non-precious-metal electrocatalysts for alkaline fuel cells.},
doi = {10.1021/jacs.8b13296},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1566595}, journal = {Journal of the American Chemical Society},
issn = {0002-7863},
number = 10,
volume = 141,
place = {United States},
year = {2019},
month = {2}
}
Copy to clipboard
Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.8b13296
Copyright Statement
Other availability
Search WorldCat Search WorldCat to find libraries that may hold this journal
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 21 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science
Save / Share:
Export Metadata
Save to My Library
You must Sign In or Create an Account in order to save documents to your library.

Works referencing / citing this record:

Redox-Inert Fe 3+ Ions in Octahedral Sites of Co-Fe Spinel Oxides with Enhanced Oxygen Catalytic Activity for Rechargeable Zinc-Air Batteries
journal, August 2019

Modeling Study of pH Distribution and Non-Equilibrium State of Water in Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
journal, January 2020

    [ × clear filter / sort ]

    Similar records in OSTI.GOV collections: