N-Doped Porous Carbon from Sargassum spp. as Efficient Metal-Free Electrocatalysts for O 2 Reduction in Alkaline Fuel Cells

K. Y. Pérez-Salcedo, Xuan Shi, Arunachala Mada Kannan, Romeli Barbosa, Patricia Quintana and Beatriz Escobar
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K. Y. Pérez-Salcedo: Unidad de Energía Renovable, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, Mérida, Yucatán 97302, Mexico
Xuan Shi: Fuel Cell Laboratory, Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ 85212, USA
Arunachala Mada Kannan: Fuel Cell Laboratory, Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ 85212, USA
Romeli Barbosa: División de Ciencias e Ingeniería, Universidad de Quintana Roo, Chetumal, Quintana Roo 77019, Mexico
Patricia Quintana: Departamento de Física Aplicada, Cinvestav Unidad-Mérida, Mérida, Yucatán 97310, Mexico
Beatriz Escobar: Unidad de Energía Renovable, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, Mérida, Yucatán 97302, Mexico

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: This work reports the synthesis of N-doped porous carbon (NPC) with a high surface area from Sargassum spp. as a low-cost alternative for electrocatalyst production for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Sargassum spp. was activated with potassium hydroxide at different temperatures (700, 750, and 800 °C) and then doped with pyridine (N700, N750, and N800). As a result of the activation process, the 800 °C sample showed a high surface area (2765 m 2 g −1 ) and good onset potential (0.870 V) and current density (4.87 mA cm −2 ). The ORR performance of the electrocatalysts in terms of their current density was N800 > N750 > N700 > 750 > 800 > 700, while the onset potential decreased in the following order: N800 > 800 > 750 > 700 > N700 > N750. The fuel cell performance of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) prepared with electrocatalyst synthesized at 750 °C and doped with pyridine was 12.72 mW cm −2 , which was close to that from Pt/C MEA on both the anode and cathode (14.42 mW cm −2 ). These results indicate that NPCs are an alternative to the problem of Sargassum spp. accumulation in the Caribbean due to their high efficiency as electrocatalysts for ORR.

Keywords: N-doped porous carbon; Sargassum spp.; oxygen reduction reaction; alkaline fuel cell (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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