• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.549-555
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• 2019

Electrocatalysis of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) using Pt nanoparticles or bimetal on carabon was studied. Currently, the best catalyst is platinum, which is a limited resource and expensive to commercialize. In this paper, we investigated the cheaper and more active electrocatalysts by making Pt nanoparticles and adding 3D transition metal such as copper. Electrocatalysts were obtained by chemical reduction based on ethylene glycol solutions. Elemental analysis and particle size were confirmed by XRD and TEM. The electrochemical surface area (ECSA) and activity of the catalyst were determined by electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry method. The commercialized Pt support on carbon (Pt/C, JM), synthesis Pt/C and synthesis Pt3Cu1 alloy nanoparticles supported on carbon were compared. We confirmed that the synthesized Pt3-Cu1/C has high electrochemical performance than commercial Pt/C. It is expected to develop an electrocatalyst with high activity at low price by increasing the oxygen reduction reaction rate of the fuel cell.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.11-25
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• 2009

Fuel cells are expected to be one of the major clean new energy sources in the near future. However, the slow kinetics of electrocatalytic hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and the high loading of Pt for the anode and cathode material are the urgent issues to be addressed since they determine the efficiency and the cost of this energy source. In this review paper, a new approach was developed for designing electrocatalysts for the HOR and ORR in fuel cells. It was found that the electronic properties of Pt could be fine-tuned by the electronic and geometric effects introduced by the substrate alloy metal and the lateral effects of the neighboring metal atoms. The role of substrate was found reflected in a volcano plot for the HOR and ORR as a function of their calculated d-band centers. This paper demonstrated a viable way to designing the electrocatalysts which could successfully alleviate two issue facing the commercializing of the fuel cell-the cost of electrocatalysts and their efficiency.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.354-361
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• 2022

In a direct methanol fuel cell system (DMFC), one of the drawbacks is methanol crossover. Methanol from the anode passes through the membrane and enters the cathode, causing mixed potential in the cell. Only Pt-based catalysts are capable of operating as cathode for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in a harsh acidic condition of DMFC. However, it causes mixed potential due to high activity toward methanol oxidation reaction of Pt. To overcome this situation, developing Pt-based catalyst that has methanol tolerance is significant, by controlling reactant adsorption or reaction kinetics. Pt/C decorated with phosphate ion was prepared by modified polyol method as cathode catalyst in DMFC. Phosphate ions, bonded to the carbon of Pt/C, surround free Pt surface and block only methanol adsorption on Pt, not oxygen. It leads to the suppression of methanol oxidation in an oxygen atmosphere, resulting in high DMFC performance compared to pristine Pt/C.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.332-336
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• 2018

Alkaline oxygen electrocatalysis, targeting anion exchange membrane alkaline-based metal-air batteries has become a subject of intensive investigation because of its advantages compared to its acidic counterparts in reaction kinetics and materials stability. However, significant breakthroughs in the design and synthesis of efficient oxygen reduction catalysts from earth-abundant elements instead of precious metals in alkaline media still remain in high demand. One of the most inexpensive alternatives is carbonaceous materials, which have attracted extensive attention either as catalyst supports or as metal-free cathode catalysts for oxygen reduction. Also, carbon composite materials have been recognized as the most promising because of their reasonable balance between catalytic activity, durability, and cost. In particular, heteroatom (e.g., N, B, S or P) doping on carbon materials can tune the electronic and geometric properties of carbon, providing more active sites and enhancing the interaction between carbon structure and active sites. Here, we focused on boron and nitrogen doped nanocarbon composit (BNC nanocarbon) catalysts synthesized by a solution plasma process using the simple precursor of pyridine and boric acid without further annealing process. Additionally, guidance for rational design and synthesis of alkaline ORR catalysts with improved activity is also presented.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.497-505
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• 2019

Lanthanum-based transition metal cations containing perovskites have emerged as potential catalysts for the intermediate-temperature (600-800℃) oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Here, we report a facile acetylacetone-assisted combustion route for the synthesis of nanostructured La_0.6Sr_0.4Co_0.2Fe_0.8O_3-δ (LSCF6428) cathodes for intermediate-temperature solid-oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). The as-prepared powder was analyzed by thermogravimetry analysis-differential scanning calorimetry. The powder calcined at 800℃ was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electrode microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area measurements. It was found that the porosity of the air electrode significantly increased by utilizing the nanostructured LSCF6428 instead of commercial powder. The performance of a single cell fabricated with the nanostructured LSCF6428 cathode increased by 112%, from 0.4 to 0.85 W cm^-2, at 700℃. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy showed a considerable reduction in the area-specific resistance and activation energy from 133.5 to 61.5 kJ/mol, resulting in enhanced electrocatalytic activity toward ORR and overall cell performance.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.34-40
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• 2012

$Pt_{10}$/C, $Pt_9Mn_1$/C, $Pt_7Mn_3$/C electrocatalysts for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells(PEMFCs) were synthesized by reduction with HCHO and their activity as a oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) was examined at half cell. The electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) was studied by using a glaasy carbon electrode through cyclic voltammetric curves(CV) in a 1 M $H_2SO_4$ solution. The ORR activities of $Pt_9Mn_1$/C were higher than $Pt_{10}$/C, $Pt_7Mn_3$/C. Also potential-current curves of $Pt_9Mn_1$/C at 0.9, 0.8, 0.7, 0.6V for 5minutes respectively were higher than $Pt_{10}$/C, $Pt_7Mn_3$/C. Physical characterization was made by using x-ray diffraction(XRD) and transmission electron microscope(TEM). The TEM images of $Pt_9Mn_1$/C, $Pt_{10}$/C catalysts showed homogenous particle distribution with particle size of about 2.7 nm, 3 nm respectively and then the XRD results showed that the crystalline structure of the synthesized catalysts are seen FCC structure.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.633-639
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• 2018

In anion exchange membrane fuel cells, Pd nanoparticles are extensively studied as promising non-Pt catalysts due to their electronic structure similar to Pt. In this study, to fabricate Pd nanoparticles well dispersed on carbon support materials, we propose a synthetic strategy using mixed organic ligands with different chemical structures and functions. Simultaneously to control the Pd particle size and dispersion, a ligand mixture composed of oleylamine(OA) and trioctylphosphine(TOP) is utilized during thermal decomposition of Pd precursors. In the ligand mixture, OA serves mainly as a reducing agent rather than a stabilizer since TOP, which has a bulky structure, more strongly interacts with the Pd metal surface as a stabilizer compared to OA. The specific roles of OA and TOP in the Pd nanoparticle synthesis are studied according to the mixture composition, and the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) activity and durability of highly-dispersed Pd nanocatalysts with different particles sizes are investigated. The results of this study confirm that the Pd nanocatalyst with large particles has high durability compared to the nanocatalyst with small Pd nanoparticles during the accelerated degradation tests although they initially indicated similar ORR performance.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.49-52
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• 2014

Graphene nanosheets (GNS), nitrogen-doped graphene nanosheets (N-GNS), and sulfur-doped graphene nanosheets (S-GNS) were successfully synthesized, and their catalytic effects on the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in $Li-O_2$ batteries were compared. The S-GNS electrode exhibited the highest ORR catalytic activity, resulting in enhanced discharge capacity and power capability. We attributed the enhanced ORR catalytic activity to the increased defect sites on graphene.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.425-431
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• 2019

As rechargeable metal-air batteries will be ideal energy storage devices in the future, an active cathode electrocatalyst is required with bi-functionality on both oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) during discharge and charge, respectively. Here, a class of perovskite cathode catalyst with a micro-tubular structure has been developed by controlling bi-functionality from different Ru and Ni dopant ratios. A micro-tubular structure is achieved by the activated carbon fiber (ACF) templating method, which provides uniform size and shape. At the perovskite formula of $LaCrO_3$, the dual dopant system is successfully synthesized with a perfect incorporation into the single perovskite structure. The chemical oxidation states for each Ni and Ru also confirm the partial substitution to B-site of Cr without any changes in the major perovskite structure. From the electrochemical measurements, the micro-tubular feature reveals much more efficient catalytic activity on ORR and OER, comparing to the grain catalyst with same perovskite composition. By changing the Ru and Ni ratio, the $LaCr_{0.8}Ru_{0.1}Ni_{0.1}O_3$ micro-tubular catalyst exhibits great bi-functionality, especially on ORR, with low metal loading, which is comparable to the commercial catalyst of Pt and Ir. This advanced catalytic property on the micro-tubular structure and Ru/Ni synergy effect at the perovskite material may provide a new direction for the next-generation cathode catalyst in metal-air battery system.

• Ceramist
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.331-348
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• 2018

With the expectation to overcome the problem of increasing energy consumption, polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are getting more attention as a promising environmentally friendly and sustainable next-generation energy conversion system. In spite of the rapid improvement of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs), there are several critical issues still need to be resolved for practical commercialization. Out of the many issues, the main hurdle comes from oxygen reduction reaction(ORR), thus development of efficient ORR electrocatalysts is the main key for enhancing PEMFC performance. Among various catalysts, 1D nanostructured catalyst is a promising candidate because it holds many advantages that come from nanostructuring while supplementing the disadvantages of other nanostructures such as nanoparticles(0D) or gyroids(3D). This review focused on diverse 1D nanostructures and talks about their advantages as catalyst for ORR. Different 1D nanostructures will be introduced while applying the structures to different materials system showing the prospects of 1D nanostructures for improving PEMFC.