Carbon and Nitrogen Composition for Non-Precious Metal Catalyst to Physical Characterization and Electrochemical Properties

This paper investigates the physical properties and electrochemical properties of the innovative non-precious metal catalyst using different carbon types. The cathode catalyst for PEMFC (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell) is an important part of fuel cell because the reaction of the cathode is three times lower than the anode. Otherwise, the high cost of Pt/C catalyst for cathode needs to be replaced using low-cost material. Therefore, this research fabricated Pt free catalyst. FeCl3.6H2O was used as a metal precursor. Urea and PVP as a nitrogen (N) source were mixed with carbon. The variations of carbon are Graphite (Gt), Charcoal Active (CA), and Calcined Petroleum Coke (CPC). As prepared catalysts, were noted as Fe/N-Gt, Fe/N-CA, and Fe/N-CPC. Catalysts without nitrogen addition also were synthesized such as Fe-Gt, Fe-CA, and Fe-CPC for comparison. The electrochemical properties can be evaluated form Cycle Voltammograms (CV) curve. Graphite supported catalyst has anodic and cathodic peak otherwise has the lowest capacity. It means that the redox reaction occurs during CV measurement for Fe/N-Gt and Fe-Gt catalyst. Nitrogen addition of graphite supported catalyst has a higher current density than Fe-Gt catalyst. The morphology of the catalyst was identified by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Different particle shape for carbon types can be observed by SEM image of obtained catalyst. Energy Dispersive X-Ray EDX to identify the chemical composition. Nitrogen-doped carbon caused the formation of Fe2O3 and it was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD).