• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.137-145
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• 2021

Among the non-precious metal catalysts, iron-nitrogen doped carbon (Fe-N/C) catalysts have been recognized as the most promising candidates for an alternative to Pt-based catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) under alkaline and acidic conditions. In this study, the nano replication method using mesoporous silica, which features tunable primary particle sizes and shape, is employed to prepare the mesoporous Fe-N/C catalysts with different shapes. Platelet SBA-15, irregular KIT-6, and spherical silica particle (SSP) were selected as a template to generate three different kinds of shapes of the mesoporous Fe-N/C catalyst. Physicochemical properties of mesoporous Fe-N/C catalysts are characterized by using small-angle X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, and scanning electron microscopy images. According to the electrochemical evaluation, there is no morphological preference of mesoporous Fe-N/C catalysts toward the ORR activity with half-cell configuration under alkaline electrolyte. By implementing X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of Fe and N atoms in the mesoporous Fe-N/C catalysts, it is possible to verify that the activity towards ORR highly depends on the portions of "Fe-N" species in the catalysts regardless of the shape of catalysts. It was suggested that active site distribution in the Fe-N/C is one important factor towards ORR activity.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.215-221
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• 2005

A Fe-containing mesoporous silica (Fe-MCM-41) in which part of Si in the framework was replaced by Fe(Si-O-Fe) has been successfully prepared using $Fe^{3+}$ salt by a direct synthesis route. Physical properties of the material were characterized by XRD, $N_2$ adsorption, SEM/TEM, UV-vis and FT-IR spectroscopies. Fe-MCM-41 exhibited high catalytic activity in phenol hydroxylation using $H_2O_2$ as oxidant, giving phenol conversion of ca. 60% at $50^{\circ}C$ [phenol : $H_2O_2$ = 1:1, water solvent]. Fe-MCM-41 was also applied to the growth of CNTs, utilizing a thermal-CVD reactor using acetylene gas, which demonstrated that multi-wall CNTs could be prepared efficiently using the Fe-MCM-41 catalyst.