Synthesis and characterization of non-precious metal binary catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

A promising non-precious metal FeCoTETA/C catalyst has been easily synthesized, by chelating Fe and Co with triethylenetetramine (TETA) in ethanol followed by pyrolyzing in an Ar atmosphere, as electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The catalyst has been characterized with various physicochemical techniques as well as electrochemical analysis and single cell performance measurement. The results showed that nano-intermetallic FeCo particles and several types of N and O species are present on carbon matrix. The catalyst delivers better electrocatalytic activity toward ORR compared with CoTETA/C catalyst, the %H2O2 is about 10% with an electron-transfer number of around 3.8. The PEMFC with this catalyst in cathode reaches a maximum power density of 256 mW cm−2 and has a current density of 514 mA cm−2 at 500 mV.