Polypyrrole-Derived Fe-Co-N-C Catalyst for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction: Performance in Alkaline Hydrogen and Ethanol Fuel Cells

Alkaline membrane fuel cells (AMFCs) have started to become more attractive in recent years due to the development of polymeric membranes with good anionic conductivity and durability. However, few studies investigating the performance of H2/O2 fueled AMFCs and alkaline direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) with membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) fabricated with Pt-group metal (PGM)-free catalysts are available in the literature. In this paper, we synthesized and fully characterized a Fe-Co-N-C electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) by a sacrificial method, using pyrrole as a unique and inexpensive precursor for N-doped carbonaceous materials. Very good ORR activity and stability were obtained in alkaline conditions, most likely due to the presence of Co-Fe@C nanoparticles. We achieved a very high performance in an AMFC, 420 mW cm-2 at 60 °C, among the highest in the literature for PGM-free catalysts, and a good performance in a passive DEFC, 28 mW cm-2 at room temperature.