Activated carbon becomes active for oxygen reduction and hydrogen evolution reactions

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Catalysis

Background:

• Activated carbon (AC) is a widely used material in catalysis.
• Developing efficient and cost-effective electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is crucial for energy technologies.
• Existing catalysts, such as platinum-based materials, are expensive and face scarcity issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a facile method for creating unique defects in activated carbon.
• To investigate the electrocatalytic activity of the defective activated carbon (D-AC) for both oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).
• To compare the performance of D-AC with commercial platinum catalysts.

Main Methods:

• A facile synthesis method was employed to introduce specific defects into activated carbon.
• Electrochemical techniques were used to evaluate the ORR activity in an alkaline medium.
• Electrochemical techniques were used to assess the HER activity in an acidic solution.

Main Results:

• The synthesized defective activated carbon (D-AC) exhibited significantly enhanced activity for both ORR and HER.
• The ORR performance of D-AC was found to be comparable to commercial platinum/carbon (Pt/C) catalysts in an alkaline environment.
• D-AC demonstrated excellent HER activity in an acidic solution, highlighting its versatility.

Conclusions:

• The facile method effectively creates defects in AC, leading to highly active electrocatalysts.
• Defective activated carbon presents a promising, cost-effective alternative to precious metal catalysts for ORR and HER.
• The D-AC material shows potential for application in various electrochemical energy conversion and storage systems.