Nitrogen-doped graphene catalysts: High energy wet ball milling synthesis and characterizations of functional groups and particle size variation with time and speed

Journal Article · Wed Jul 26 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · International Journal of Energy Research

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/er.3821· OSTI ID:1425062

Zhuang, Shiqiang  ^[1]; Nunna, Bharath Babu ^[1]; Boscoboinik, Jorge Anibal ^[2]; Lee, Eon Soo ^[1]

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1. New Jersey Inst. of Technology, Newark, NJ (United States)
2. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

Nitrogen-doped graphene (N-G) catalyst emerges as one of the promising non-platinum group metal (non-PGM) catalysts with the advantages of low cost, high oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity, stability, and selectivity to replace expensive PGM catalysts in electrochemical systems. This research investigated nanoscale high energy wet (NHEW) ball milling for the synthesis of N-G catalysts to make conventional problems such as sintering or localized overheating issues negligible. The successful synthesis of N-G catalysts with comparable catalytic performance to 10 wt% Pt/C by using this method has been published. This paper focuses on understanding the effect of grinding speed and grinding time on the particle size and chemical state of N-G catalysts through the physical and chemical characterization. The research result shows that (1) the final particle size, nitrogen doping percentage, and nitrogen bonding composition of synthesized N-G catalysts are predictable and controllable by adjusting the grinding time, the grinding speed, and other relative experimental parameters; (2) the final particle size of N-G catalysts could be estimated from the derived relation between the cracking energy density and the particle size of ground material in the NHEW ball milling process with specified experimental parameters; and (3) the chemical composition of N-G catalysts synthesized by NHEW ball milling is controllable by adjusting the grinding time and grinding speed.

• Research Organization: Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
• Grant/Contract Number: SC0012704
• OSTI ID: 1425062
• Report Number(s): BNL-200079-2018-JAAM
• Journal Information: International Journal of Energy Research, Vol. 41, Issue 15; ISSN 0363-907X
• Publisher: Wiley
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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