Synergistic Mn-Co Catalyst Outperforms Pt on High-rate Oxygen Reduction for Alkaline Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

Overview

Journal Nat Commun

Specialty Biology

Date 2019 Apr 5

PMID 30944328

Citations 26

Authors

Ying Wang

Yao Yang

Shuangfeng Jia

Xiaoming Wang

Kangjie Lyu

Yanqiu Peng

He Zheng

Xing Wei

Huan Ren

Li Xiao

Jianbo Wang

David A Muller

Hector D Abruna

Bing Joe Hwang

Juntao Lu

Lin Zhuang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Alkaline polymer electrolyte fuel cells are a class of fuel cells that enable the use of non-precious metal catalysts, particularly for the oxygen reduction reaction at the cathode. While there have been alternative materials exhibiting Pt-comparable activity in alkaline solutions, to the best of our knowledge none have outperformed Pt in fuel-cell tests. Here we report a Mn-Co spinel cathode that can deliver greater power, at high current densities, than a Pt cathode. The power density of the cell employing the Mn-Co cathode reaches 1.1 W cm at 2.5 A cm at 60 C. Moreover, this catalyst outperforms Pt at low humidity. In-depth characterization reveals that the remarkable performance originates from synergistic effects where the Mn sites bind O and the Co sites activate HO, so as to facilitate the proton-coupled electron transfer processes. Such an electrocatalytic synergy is pivotal to the high-rate oxygen reduction, particularly under water depletion/low humidity conditions.

Citing Articles

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Strain by metal nitrides accelerates oxygen reduction.

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