The synthesis and functionalization of nanostructured carbon black by plasma for use in fuel cells

氢可以成为一种有吸引力的能量载体，与高效的H2/空气燃料电池相结合，将导致能源问题的理想解决方案，特别是对于运输应用。因此，人们正在努力开发聚合物电解质膜（PEM）燃料电池。然而，为了使PEM燃料电池在经济上可行，它们的成本必须大幅降低。目前，催化剂（Pt）的价格占成本的很大一部分;我们计划追求的降低该成本的一种可能途径包括开发用于阴极氧还原反应（ORR）的替代低成本催化剂（例如Fe）。在这种情况下，Fe与氮原子结合，氮原子本身与炭黑（CB）载体的石墨结构结合。我们的建议旨在通过含碳原料的等离子体分解来生产定制的CB，其具有：（i）将Fe原子键合到CB结构中所需的高N含量，和（ii）适当的微孔结构。等离子体工艺提供了比传统方法更好地控制CB结构的潜力。这对于这里的目标应用程序至关重要。我们将在INRS和麦吉尔的实验室中使用等离子体源生产CB，使用各种含碳原料。第一步是验证通过改变合成条件，我们可以生产具有最佳结构性能的CB。然后，我们将在我们的实验室中使用等离子体炬方法原位功能化CB;我们将尝试通过改变等离子体条件和氮前体来最大化氮含量并产生正确的化学C-N菲咯啉结构。CB材料将通过INRS开发的热解工艺进行处理，以固定铁催化位点，并准备电极来测试PEM燃料电池中的催化活性。三名博士生和两名硕士/工程硕士学生将在INRS和麦吉尔大学接受培训。

Hydrogen could become an attractive energy vector that, combined with high efficiency H2/Air fuel cells, would result in a desirable solution to the energy problem, especially for transportation applications. There is thus a strong ongoing effort to develop Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cells. However, for PEM fuel cells to be economically viable, their cost must be reduced substantially. At the moment, the price of the catalyst (Pt) represents a substantial fraction of the cost; one possible path to reduce this cost, which we plan to pursue, consists in developing an alternative, low cost catalyst (e.g. Fe) for the cathode Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR). In this case, the Fe is bound to nitrogen atoms which are themselves bound to the graphitic structure of the carbon black (CB) support. Our proposal aims to produce, by plasma decomposition of a carbon-containing feedstock, tailored CB having: (i) high N content necessary to bond the Fe atoms into the CB structure, and (ii) the appropriate microporous structure. Plasma processes offer the potential for better control of the CB structure than conventional methods. This is crucial for the application targeted here. We will produce CB using plasma sources in our laboratories at INRS and McGill, using various carbon-containing feedstocks. The first step is to verify that by changing the synthesis conditions we can produce CB having optimum structural properties. We will then functionalize the CB produced in our laboratories using the plasma torch methods in situ; we will attempt to maximize the nitrogen content and produce the correct chemical C-N phenanthroline structure by varying the plasma conditions and the nitrogen precursor. The CB material will be treated by the pyrolysis process developed at INRS to affix the iron catalytic sites, and electrodes will be prepared to test the catalytic activity in PEM fuel cells. Three PhD students and two MSc/MEng students will be trained at INRS and McGill during this project.