Molybdenum sulphide integrated mesoporous carbon derived from wood sand for fuel cell and neutron imaging of fuel cells

Fuel cell is one of the alternative sources of energy compared to traditional energy sources. Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is one of the complementary reactions of the fuel cells. Generally, Platinum and palladium are the most common commercial electrocatalyst for fuel cells. The high cost and low abundance of these commercial catalysts restrict the wide availability of commercial fuel cells. So, it is necessary to replace these catalysts with cheaper and more efficient catalysts. Mesoporous carbon (MC) has a wide range of applications in supercapacitors, batteries, fuel cells, etc. In this work, MC was developed from the wood sand of the Teak Plant using chemical activation, thermal pyrolysis, and hydrothermal reactions. The electrocatalytic activity of the MC was further enhanced with the composite of MoS₂ (MC/MoS₂). The modified electrode of MC/MoS₂ coated on GC (GC/MC/MoS₂) exhibits the high electrocatalytic activity for ORR. The modified GC/MC/MoS₂ could be a suitable alternative to replace the commercial electrocatalysts. In addition, neutron imaging of fuel cells was used to visualize the water distribution in operative polymer electrolyte fuel cells. It also monitors the different issues related to the water management. Neutron imaging of the proposed fuel cells would be analyzed in the next step of this work. (author)