TY - JOUR
T1 - Polyaniline-copper composite
T2 - A non-precious metal cathode catalyst for low-temperature fuel cells
AU - Sonawane, Jayesh M.
AU - Pant, Deepak
AU - Ghosh, Prakash C.
AU - Adeloju, Samuel B.
N1 - Funding Information:
J.M.S. acknowledges the scholarship, research facility, and travel grant provided by IITB-Monash Research Academy and Monash University. We thank César A. Zúñiga Loyola for the helpful suggestions to improve the quality of the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 American Chemical Society.
PY - 2021/2/18
Y1 - 2021/2/18
N2 - Platinum has been used extensively
in low-temperature fuel cells (LTFCs), including polymer electrolyte
fuel cells and microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Still, its replacement with
low-cost alternatives has been a matter of considerable conjecture for
some time. This study investigates the possible use of an
electrochemically synthesized CP/PANi-Cu cathode as a low-cost
replacement for a Pt cathode in MFCs and LTFCs. Thorough and detailed
characterization and evaluation of the CP/PANi-Cu cathode was undertaken
by electrochemical and advanced surface analytical methods, including
scanning electron microscopy (SEM), XPS, FTIR, 4-D X-ray microscopy, and
3D profilometry. Direct comparison of the proposed cathode with a CP/Pt
cathode is used to justify its adequacy as a replacement for a platinum
cathode. The PANi-Cu coating had a uniform nano-fibrous structure,
which enhanced its performance as a cathode. In particular, the
incorporation of copper into the coating enhanced its ORR activity. By
comparison, the optimum CP/PANi-Cu cathode achieved a 170% higher j0apparent of 0.088 ± 0.003 mA cm–2 than obtained with a standard CP/Pt cathode with a Pt loading of 0.5 mg cm–2. Even when a higher Pt loading of 1.5 mg cm–2
was used, the CP/PANi-Cu cathode performance was still slightly better.
The superiority of the CP/PANi-Cu cathode was also reflected in the
obtained Rct value of 1.456 Ω cm–2 compared with 3.95 and 1.485 Ω cm–2 obtained with the CP/Pt cathode, which has a Pt loading of 0.5 and 1.5 mg cm–2,
respectively. The results obtained by SEM, XPS, FTIR, 4D X-ray
microscopy, and 3D profilometry confirmed the unique nature,
composition, and presence of copper in the CP/PANi-Cu composite. The
results of this study clearly demonstrate that the proposed CP/PANi-Cu
cathode can be adopted as a suitable low-cost replacement for a Pt
cathode in LTFCs.
AB - Platinum has been used extensively
in low-temperature fuel cells (LTFCs), including polymer electrolyte
fuel cells and microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Still, its replacement with
low-cost alternatives has been a matter of considerable conjecture for
some time. This study investigates the possible use of an
electrochemically synthesized CP/PANi-Cu cathode as a low-cost
replacement for a Pt cathode in MFCs and LTFCs. Thorough and detailed
characterization and evaluation of the CP/PANi-Cu cathode was undertaken
by electrochemical and advanced surface analytical methods, including
scanning electron microscopy (SEM), XPS, FTIR, 4-D X-ray microscopy, and
3D profilometry. Direct comparison of the proposed cathode with a CP/Pt
cathode is used to justify its adequacy as a replacement for a platinum
cathode. The PANi-Cu coating had a uniform nano-fibrous structure,
which enhanced its performance as a cathode. In particular, the
incorporation of copper into the coating enhanced its ORR activity. By
comparison, the optimum CP/PANi-Cu cathode achieved a 170% higher j0apparent of 0.088 ± 0.003 mA cm–2 than obtained with a standard CP/Pt cathode with a Pt loading of 0.5 mg cm–2. Even when a higher Pt loading of 1.5 mg cm–2
was used, the CP/PANi-Cu cathode performance was still slightly better.
The superiority of the CP/PANi-Cu cathode was also reflected in the
obtained Rct value of 1.456 Ω cm–2 compared with 3.95 and 1.485 Ω cm–2 obtained with the CP/Pt cathode, which has a Pt loading of 0.5 and 1.5 mg cm–2,
respectively. The results obtained by SEM, XPS, FTIR, 4D X-ray
microscopy, and 3D profilometry confirmed the unique nature,
composition, and presence of copper in the CP/PANi-Cu composite. The
results of this study clearly demonstrate that the proposed CP/PANi-Cu
cathode can be adopted as a suitable low-cost replacement for a Pt
cathode in LTFCs.
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U2 - 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.0c04152
DO - 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.0c04152
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85101440747
VL - 35
SP - 3385
EP - 3395
JO - Energy and Fuels
JF - Energy and Fuels
SN - 0887-0624
IS - 4
ER -