Performance analysis of a non-platinum group metal catalyst based on iron-aminoantipyrine for direct methanol fuel cells

[Display omitted] •Non-PGM catalyst (Fe-N-C) was synthesized from aminoantipyrine.•First report on PEM-based DMFC performance of such non-PGM catalyst typology.•High ORR activity and remarkable tolerance to the presence of methanol.•High performance of non-PGM catalyst in DMFC even at high methanol concentration. A highly active non-platinum group metals (non-PGMs) catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was synthesized by the sacrificial support method (SSM) developed at the University of New Mexico (UNM). SSM was modified in order to control hydrophobicity and morphology of transition metal–nitrogen–carbon material (M–N–C). As prepared catalyst was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) methods. Electrochemical activity towards ORR and tolerance to methanol poisoning of Fe–N–C catalyst were studied by rotating disk electrode (RDE). A performance analysis was carried out at the cathode of a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) comprising the variation of fuel concentration and temperature. A peak power density of about 50Wg−1 was recorded at 90°C in a wide range of methanol concentration (1–10M). It was found that the non-PGM catalyst possesses an extraordinarily high tolerance to methanol crossover, with no significant decay of performance up to 10M of alcohol concentration, making this material state-of-the-art in DMFC application. Chronoamperometric tests in DMFC at 90°C and 5M methanol concentration (100h) showed also a suitable stability.