Effect of hydrothermal treatment and LaMnO3 loading on the oxygen reduction activity of chitosan-derived carbon-based gas diffusion electrodes

Nitrogen-doped carbons with a high specific surface area were synthesized from chitosan for use in a catalyst support of a gas diffusion electrode (GDE) for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). First, 1 or 4 w/v% chitosan aqueous solution was hydrothermally treated at 180 °C for 20 h, producing an a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied electrochemistry 2022-08, Vol.52 (8), p.1173-1186
Main Authors: Yuasa, Masayoshi, Koga, Yuki, Ueda, Hazuki, Zayasu, Tomonari
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aqueous solutions
Carbon
Catalysts
Chemical reduction
Chemistry
Chemistry and Materials Science
Chitosan
Diffusion electrodes
Electrochemistry
Fuel cells
Gaseous diffusion
Hydrothermal treatment
Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering
Inert atmospheres
Lanthanum compounds
Nitrogen
Oxygen reduction reactions
Physical Chemistry
Research Article
Specific surface
Surface area
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Summary:Nitrogen-doped carbons with a high specific surface area were synthesized from chitosan for use in a catalyst support of a gas diffusion electrode (GDE) for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). First, 1 or 4 w/v% chitosan aqueous solution was hydrothermally treated at 180 °C for 20 h, producing an amorphous and insulating hydrochars. The obtained hydrochars were then pyrolyzed to nitrogen-doped carbons at 850 °C for 3 h in an inert atmosphere. As a result, nitrogen-doped carbon with a specific surface area of 1137 m 2  g −1 was obtained when a 1 w/v% chitosan aqueous solution was used as the starting material. The chitosan-derived nitrogen-doped carbon with a specific surface area of 1137 m 2  g −1 showed higher ORR activity than the undoped carbon with a specific surface area of 1280 m 2  g −1 . LaMnO 3 particles as ORR catalysts were then loaded onto the chitosan-derived nitrogen-doped carbon. Notably, optimal loading amount of LaMnO 3 for chitosan-derived nitrogen-doped carbon was 15 wt%, which is much lower than that for the undoped carbon. We consider that a high ability for the 4-electron ORR and high ORR activity of the chitosan-derived nitrogen-doped carbon contributed to the use of less LaMnO 3 for optimal ORR activity. Graphical abstract
ISSN:0021-891X
1572-8838
DOI:10.1007/s10800-022-01701-1