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

Title: Platinum group metal-free Fe-based (Fe-N-C) oxygen reduction electrocatalysts for direct alcohol fuel cells

Journal Article · · Current Opinion in Electrochemistry
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [3];  [4]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [5];  [6]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [7];  [1]
  1. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Florence (Italy). Istituto di Chimica Dei Composti OrganoMetallici (ICCOM)
  2. Univ. degli Studi di Milano (Italy)
  3. Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States). National Fuel Cells Research Center
  4. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Zaragoza (Spain). Instituto de Carboquímica
  5. National Research Council (CNR), Messina (Italy). Istituto di Tecnologie Avanzate per l'Energia "Nicola Giordano" (ITAE)
  6. Pajarito Powder, LLC, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
  7. University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan (Italy)

In direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs), the oxidation of alcohols happens at the expenses of the oxygen reduction reaction at the cathode. DAFCs' cathodes use a significant amount of platinum that is an expensive critical raw material. Moreover, platinum oxidizes alcohols, a fact that combined with alcohol crossover, decreases significantly the performance of the cells. The use of Fe-based (Fe-N-C) platinum group metal–free (PGM-free) cathodes is a convenient strategy to overcome these limitations. This review analyzes the application of PGM-free cathodes to DAFCs. The discussion focuses on acidic systems and covers the following subjects: (i) the breakdown of DAFC potential in its components, (ii) the analysis of the advantages from the use of the PGM-free cathode, and (iii) a review of the performance and durability of DAFCs. Finally, the review closes with a view of the authors of the future perspective for the research.

Research Organization:
Pajarito Powder, LLC, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); Italian Ministry for University and Research
Grant/Contract Number:
EE0008419; 2017YH9MRK
OSTI ID:
1976981
Journal Information:
Current Opinion in Electrochemistry, Vol. 29, Issue C; ISSN 2451-9103
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (45)

Low methanol crossover and high efficiency direct methanol fuel cell: The influence of diffusion layers journal March 2011
Size-dependence of the electrochemical performance of Fe–N–C catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction and cathodes of direct methanol fuel cells journal January 2020
Identification of catalytic sites for oxygen reduction in iron- and nitrogen-doped graphene materials journal August 2015
Fe–N–C Catalyst Graphitic Layer Structure and Fuel Cell Performance journal June 2017
Platinum group metal-free oxygen reduction electrocatalysts used in neutral electrolytes for bioelectrochemical reactor applications journal October 2020
Selectivity of Cobalt-Based Non-Platinum Oxygen Reduction Catalysts in the Presence of Methanol and Formic Acid journal August 2010
Ruthenium Crossover in Direct Methanol Fuel Cell with Pt-Ru Black Anode journal January 2004
Performance, methanol tolerance and stability of Fe-aminobenzimidazole derived catalyst for direct methanol fuel cells journal July 2016
Performance analysis of Fe–N–C catalyst for DMFC cathodes: Effect of water saturation in the cathodic catalyst layer journal December 2016
Water transport and flooding in DMFC: Experimental and modeling analyses journal November 2012
PGM‐Free Cathode Catalysts for PEM Fuel Cells: A Mini‐Review on Stability Challenges journal December 2018
Direct methanol fuel cells : Methanol crossover and its influence on single DMFC performance journal September 2004
An overview on non-platinum cathode catalysts for direct methanol fuel cell journal March 2013
Fe-N/C catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction supported on different carbonaceous materials. Performance in acidic and alkaline direct alcohol fuel cells journal May 2017
Carbon-neutral sustainable energy technology: Direct ethanol fuel cells journal October 2015
Experimental investigation of methanol crossover evolution during direct methanol fuel cell degradation tests journal March 2014
High Performance and Cost-Effective Direct Methanol Fuel Cells: Fe-N-C Methanol-Tolerant Oxygen Reduction Reaction Catalysts journal July 2016
Enhancing Oxygen Reduction Reaction Activity of α-MnO2 Nanowires Through Ag Doping journal September 2020
Durability challenges and perspective in the development of PGM-free electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction journal June 2018
Ethanol crossover phenomena and its influence on the performance of DEFC journal August 2005
Methanol tolerance of atomically dispersed single metal site catalysts: mechanistic understanding and high-performance direct methanol fuel cells journal January 2020
Highly methanol-tolerant non-precious metal cathode catalysts for direct methanol fuel cell journal November 2010
Effects of using two transition metals in the synthesis of non-noble electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction in direct methanol fuel cell journal March 2018
Atomically dispersed Fe-N-C derived from dual metal-organic frameworks as efficient oxygen reduction electrocatalysts in direct methanol fuel cells journal December 2019
Performance analysis of a non-platinum group metal catalyst based on iron-aminoantipyrine for direct methanol fuel cells journal March 2016
Hierarchical oxygen reduction reaction electrocatalysts based on FeSn0.5 species embedded in carbon nitride-graphene based supports journal August 2018
High-Performance Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction Derived from Polyaniline, Iron, and Cobalt journal April 2011
Insights on the extraordinary tolerance to alcohols of Fe-N-C cathode catalysts in highly performing direct alcohol fuel cells journal April 2017
Zirconium Oxynitride-Catalyzed Oxygen Reduction Reaction at Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Cathodes journal February 2017
Graphene-derived Fe/Co-N-C catalyst in direct methanol fuel cells: Effects of the methanol concentration and ionomer content on cell performance journal August 2017
Preparation, characterization, and high performance of RuSe/C for direct methanol fuel cells journal January 2008
Recent advances of Fe–N–C pyrolyzed catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction journal October 2020
Recent trends on the application of PGM-free catalysts at the cathode of anion exchange membrane fuel cells journal June 2018
Status and challenges for the application of platinum group metal-free catalysts in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells journal February 2021
A New Fuel Cell Cathode Catalyst journal March 1964
Passive Direct Methanol–Hydrogen Peroxide Fuel Cell with Reduced Graphene Oxide–Supported Prussian Blue as Catalyst journal January 2020
Synthesis, characterization and catalytic activity of RuFeSe/C as a cathode catalyst for low-temperature fuel cells journal June 2009
A high-performance flexible direct ethanol fuel cell with drop-and-play function journal November 2019
Modification of palladium-based catalysts by chalcogenes for direct methanol fuel cells journal August 2007
Commercial platinum group metal-free cathodic electrocatalysts for highly performed direct methanol fuel cell applications journal October 2019
Iron-Nitrogen-Carbon Catalysts for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells journal January 2020
Methanol-Tolerant M–N–C Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reactions in Acidic Media and Their Application in Direct Methanol Fuel Cells journal December 2018
Activity and degradation study of an Fe-N-C catalyst for ORR in Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) journal March 2020
Electroreduction of oxygen over iron macrocyclic catalysts for DMFC applications journal February 2009
Origins, Developments, and Perspectives of Carbon Nitride-Based Electrocatalysts for Application in Low-Temperature FCs journal January 2015