چكيده به لاتين
Polymer electrolyte fuel cells, a new technology for energy production, have a higher efficiency by eliminating pollution from burning fossil fuels and producing water as a by-product. One of the major challenges of commercializing these cells is their high cost due to the use of platinum as a cathode electrocatalyst to perform the oxygen reduction reaction, which has an inherent sluggish kinetics. Therefore, many researchers are looking for a suitable replacement for platinum.
In the present study, it is also attempted to introduce non platinum- carbon based material electrocatalyst instead of platinum as a cathode electrode of oxygen reduction reaction. Therefore, in the first step nitrogen-doped graphene (NG) was synthesized by solvothermal method. Then, the support was synthesized by preparing NG composite with zirconia nanoparticles. In the next step, iron and cobalt nanoparticles were loaded onto the composite base via modified polyol method. ZrO2 nanoparticles and Fe and Co elements were investigated using XRD, FTIR and SEM and their presence in the catalyst structure was confirmed. The results of cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) tests are also presented. Subsequently, using a chronoamperometric test (CA) for 5400 seconds, no current density loss was observed in the catalyst, indicating good stability and durability. Therefore, the good performance and durability of this catalyst, along with its cost-effectiveness compared to platinum, can make it a good substitute for platinum. Finally, kinetic parameters of α and j0 for the electrocatalyst were calculated by the Tafel test.
