Making battery catalysts accessible
For too long, good quality, efficient batteries have been inaccessible to many due to high costs associated with the platinum group metal (PGM) species used to create them. Now, new nanoarchitectronics research shows that accessible and affordable batteries may be possible by switching PGMs for carbon-based catalysts. Are microporous carbon applications the future of battery development? Minjun Kim et al explore the topic in their research.
Read the full article in Chemical Science.
What’s the cost of quality science? When it comes to batteries and machinery, it can be high. For years, choices of catalyst for metal air batteries and fuel cells have been limited. With most catalysts suffering from slow oxidation reactions, we’ve been forced to resort to expensive PGM species and platinum derivatives, which are both costly and hard to come by.
To combat this issue, scientists have been researching alternative catalysts that are cheaper and easier to find. Research from Minjun Kim et al may have provided a solution in the form of carbon based catalysts.
Cutting the cost with carbon
This study assessed the possibility of using carbon structures containing iron and nitrogen atoms as alternative catalysts. The research used three carbon structures:
- microporous carbon (MPC)
- hollow microporous carbon (HMC)
- multilevel porous carbon (HPC)
The carbon structure with the best reaction was the multilevel porous carbon, which had mesopores between 11.5 and 11.7 nanometers in size.
These mesopores played a major role in oxidation reactions and improved the electrochemical performance.
Using the rotating ring disk electrode method, they discovered that macropores also allowed a more efficient flow of electricity in the catalyst. The results show the benefits of specially designed porous carbon (nanoarchitectures), allowing electricity to flow more efficiently. By adding nitrogen and iron to the porous carbon structure, electricity flowed even more efficiently – a rate comparable to platinum carbon.
Creating more affordable technology
We, therefore, conclude that the strategic consideration of structural and doping effects is paramount in achieving advanced catalyst (or electrode) materials for energy conversion/storage applications.
The use of nanoarchitectures and carbon catalysts in technology could prove instrumental in reducing costs and elevating accessibility of energy-related applications. We look forward to exploring the implication of microporous carbon applications in future research.
This article is free to read in our open access, flagship journal Chemical Science: Feng et al, Chem. Sci., 2023. DOI: 10.1039/D2SC02726G