Synthesis and characterization of iron nanoparticles on partially reduced graphene oxide as a cost-effective catalyst fo
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Research Letter
Synthesis and characterization of iron nanoparticles on partially reduced graphene oxide as a cost-effective catalyst for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells Allen Green, Rebecca Isseroff, Simon Lin, Likun Wang, and Miriam Rafailovich, Department of Chemical Engineering, Stony Brook University, NY 11794, USA Address all correspondence to Rebecca Isseroff at [email protected] (Received 26 January 2017; accepted 6 March 2017)
Abstract Partially reduced graphene oxide functionalized with Fe nanoparticles alone or combined with Au and Pt nanoparticles is synthesized and characterized, and their effects on Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) power output and carbon monoxide resistance are tested. Samples were prepared with various combinations of metal nanoparticles to create a cost-effective catalyst. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy revealed metal nanoparticles embedded on graphene sheets, some with magnetic susceptibility. PEMFC tests exhibited power output that was >180% of the control in a pure H2 gas feed and 250% of the control in a H2 gas feed with 1000 ppm of CO.
Introduction The polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) converts chemical energy from the redox reaction of H2 and O2 to electrical energy using a platinum catalyst supported on carbon black paper as an anode and cathode to drive the redox reaction; a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) (in this case, a Nafion membrane), which serves as a medium for the proton exchange between the anode and cathode; and a wire through which the electrons can travel. The platinum catalyst on the anode oxidizes hydrogen gas (H2) into electrons and protons. The protons can pass through the PEM but the electrons cannot and so they flow into the wire, producing electrical energy. At the cathode, oxygen gas (O2) joins with the protons and electrons from the anode to create H2O as the only product. PEMFCs have several limitations: (1) The high cost of the platinum catalyst to oxidize H2. (2) The low output power of only 1 V produced by a single PEMFC.[1] To solve this problem, fuel cells are stacked on top of each other, resulting in an expensive and bulky power source. (3) The PEMFC’s susceptibility to carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning of the platinum catalyst through the reverse water shift gas reaction: CO2 + H2⇌H2O + CO CO2, readily available from the environment, can constantly react with H2 to form CO gas.[2] CO gets absorbed by the anode, poisoning and blocking the platinum catalysts from oxidizing H2, thus reducing power output. Current methods of preventing CO poisoning have flaws in their practicality. Mixing trace amounts of O2 gas with H2 gas
to stimulate CO oxidation on the catalyst has been investigated, but this proved ineffective and tedious due to the need of constantly monitoring the air content.[3] The same results were true when hydrogen peroxide was added to the H2 gas.[4] Operating the fuel cell at >100 °C to oxidize the CO causes the Nafion membrane to degrade, making this method unfeasible as we
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