Mesoporous FeCo2O4 nanosheet-supported Pt for oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reaction bi-functional catalytic performance

• Published in: Ionics 2023-08, Vol.29 (8), p.3225-3236
• Main Authors: Li, Sirong, Zhao, Mengyao, Wang, Zhenlong, Zhang, Zhanyu, Yan, Zhiyong, Xiao, Xuechun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Catalysts; Catalytic activity; Catalytic converters; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Commercialization; Condensed Matter Physics; Current density; Electrochemistry; Energy Storage; Nanoparticles; Nanosheets; Optical and Electronic Materials; Oxygen evolution reactions; Platinum; Renewable and Green Energy
• ISSN: 0947-7047; 1862-0760
• DOI: 10.1007/s11581-023-05049-0

The development of new energy storage and conversion pathways has gradually freed people from dependence on oil, and improving conversion efficiency and safety is still the mainstream trend in the development of new energy sources, and electrode catalysts have become crucial in solving these problems. At present, precious metal catalysts have good performance, but the scarcity of resources and the high price limit commercialization. Therefore, it is very important to develop a catalyst for commercialization. In this paper, the Pt nanoparticles were successfully loaded on the mesoporous FeCo 2 O 4 nanosheet catalyst by the sodium borohydride (NaBH 4 ) reduction method. The formation of the Pt-O bond results in covalent coupling between Pt and FeCo 2 O 4 . The increase in defect sites also facilitates improved catalytic activity. According to the test results, the ORR process is mainly carried out through the "4-electron reaction" pathway, and the main product is water, and the Tafel slope of Pt-FeCo 2 O 4 (-73 mV dec −1 ) is smaller than that of Pt/C (-84 mV dec −1 ) and FeCo 2 O 4 (-76 mV dec −1 ). The stability of Pt-FeCo 2 O 4 to ORR (After 12 h, only 15.5% current density loss) is significantly higher than that of commercial Pt/C. Meanwhile, in the OER process, Pt-FeCo 2 O 4 (28.1 mA cm −2 ) has a higher current density than RuO 2 (24.4 mA cm −2 ) and FeCo 2 O 4 (15.1 mA cm −2 ). Therefore, Pt-FeCo 2 O 4 can be used as a bifunctional catalyst to accelerate the ORR and OER processes, which has important theoretical research significance and commercial value.