• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.75-80
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• 2010

We report Co-tetramethoxyphenylporphyrin on carbon particles (Co-TMPP/C) as a non-Pt catalyst for tri-iodide reduction in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The presence of well-dispersed carbon and cobalt source in the catalyst surface is confirmed by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. In the C 1s, Co 2p, and N 1s peaks measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the C-N, Co-$N_4$, and N-C are assigned to the component at 285.7, 781.8, and 401 eV, respectively. Especially, the Co-TMPP/C shows improved current density, diffusion coefficient, and charge-transfer resistance in the ${I_3}^-/I^-$ redox reaction compared to conventional catalysts. Furthermore, in the DSSCs performance, the Co-TMPP/C shows increased short circuit current density, higher open circuit voltage, and improved cell efficieny in comparison with Pt/C.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.45-51
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• 2015

In this study, continuous microbial fuel cells (MFCs) were operated using non-precious metal catalysts such as iron(II) phthalocyanine (FePc) and cobalt tetramethoxyphenylporphyrin (CoTMPP)) as alternative cathode catalysts for platinum. To evaluate MFCs performance, operational conditions of organic loading rate (OLR) (0.5~3 g COD/L/d) and hydraulic retention rate (HRT) (0.25~1 day) were changed. Power density of MFCs were determined by cathode electrode performance. The maximum power density was $3.3W/m^3$ with platinum at OLR 3 g COD/L/d. Given each HRTs at 1 g COD/L/d, FePc showed to be a better alternative for platinum than CoTMPP because the power density of MFC with FePc was similar to that of MFC with platinum. CoTMPP catalyst, however, showed the lowest power density due to increase of internal resistance during continuous operation.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.145-150
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• 2013

Optimal preparation guidelines of a cathode catalyst layer by non-precious metal catalysts were evaluated based on electrochemical performance in single-chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Experiments for catalyst loading rate revealed that iron(II) phthalocyanine (FePc) can be a promising alternative, comparable to platinum (Pt) and cobalt tetramethoxyphenylporphyrin (CoTMPP), including effects of substrate concentration. Results showed that using an optimal FePc loading of $1mg/cm^2$ was equivalent to a Pt loading of $0.35mg/cm^2$ on the basis of maximum power density. Given higher loading rates or substrate concentrations, FePc proved to be a better alternative for Pt than CoTMPP. Under the optimal loading rate, it was further revealed that 40 wt% of FePc to carbon support allowed for the best power generation. These results suggest that proper control of the non-precious metal catalyst layer and substrate concentration are highly interrelated, and reveal how those combinations promote the economic power generation of single-chamber MFCs.