Engineering of hollow mesoporous Fe-graphitic carbon Nitride@CNTs for superior electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction Articles uri icon

authors

  • Kumar, Anuj
  • Gupta, Ram K.
  • Ubaidullah, Mohd
  • Al Enizi, Abdullah M.
  • PANDIT, BIDHAN
  • Nangan, Senthilkumar
  • Jagadeesha Angadi, V.
  • Yasin, Ghulam

published in

publication date

  • February 2024

start page

  • 129809

issue

  • Part A

volume

  • 357

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0016-2361

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1873-7153

abstract

  • The engineering of hollow mesoporous materials has recently gained increasing interest due to their tremendous potential as an attractive nanoplatform to catalyze the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), a key reaction in H2-O2 fuel cells. Herein, a hollow mesoporous Fe-graphitic carbon nitride supported on carbon nanotubes (Fe-C3N3@CNTs) was constructed via polymerization of 1,3,5-triazine and cyanuric chloride on the surface of the CNTs under microwave irradiation. The Fe-C3N3@CNTs composite dominated the 4e-ORR route and demonstrated a 40 mV anodic shift in E1/2ORR relative to 20% Pt catalyst due to its large surface area, good conductivity, mesoporous architecture, and high density of Fe-N4 sites. Furthermore, Fe-C3N3@CNTs demonstrated exceptional methanol tolerance and durability during ORR. Theoretical analyses revealed that Fe-C3N3 catalytic moieties easily transferred the e- density into π* orbital of O2, lowering the energy barrier for the O2 adsorption and desorption with active site, endowing 4e- ORR. This work offered a simple method of constructing a superior ORR electrocatalyst from inexpensive raw precursors, paving the way for future use of nanostructures in fuel cells.

subjects

  • Chemistry
  • Industrial Engineering

keywords

  • cnts; electrocatalysts; fe-c3n3; hollow mesoporous materials; orr