Nature-Inspired Catalyst Outperforms Platinum

Korean researchers have developed a novel bio-inspired composite electrocatalyst that outperforms state-of-the-art platinum catalysts.

Asian Scientist (Jul. 8, 2013) – Korean researchers have developed a novel bio-inspired composite electrocatalyst that outperforms platinum.

Electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction are a critical component of fuel cells and metal-air batteries that can power electric vehicles. Platinum and platinum-based alloys are currently the most efficient catalysts for this purpose. However, applications using platinum electrocatalysts are limited due to their high costs and scarce supply.

In a paper, published in Nature Communications, the researchers described an inexpensive and scalable composite electrocatalyst that outperforms platinum catalysts.

The researchers were inspired by nature in the design of their electrocatalyst that consists of iron phthalocyanine anchored on carbon nanotubes. They got the idea after observing the structure of the biological oxygen reduction catalyst, cytochrome c oxidase.

They demonstrated that their bio-inspired electrocatalyst has a higher electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction than state-of-the-art platinum-based catalysts.

It also has the advantage of exceptional durability, achieving a much longer cycle life than other metal-based catalysts and reaching more than 1,000 cycles in a durability test.

The article can be found at: Cao et al. (2013) Promotion Of Oxygen Reduction By A Bio-Inspired Tethered Iron Phthalocyanine Carbon Nanotube-Based Catalyst.

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Source: UNIST.
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