CATHODE CATALYST SELECTION FOR ENHANCING OXYGEN REDUCTION REACTION OF FUEL CELLS: GR/Cu, Co3 O4-NC/GR/Cu, AND Co3O4-Cr2O3-NC/GR/Cu

Karina Vjūnova; Loreta Tamašauskaitė-Tamašiūnaitė

ᐊ P4-23

Open Readings 2025 • P4-24

P4-25 ᐅ

CATHODE CATALYST SELECTION FOR ENHANCING OXYGEN REDUCTION REACTION OF FUEL CELLS: GR/Cu, Co₃ O₄-NC/GR/Cu, AND Co₃O₄-Cr₂O₃-NC/GR/Cu

Karina Vjūnova^{1, 2}, Loreta Tamašauskaitė-Tamašiūnaitė¹

¹ Center for Physical Sciences and Technology (FTMC)

² Vilnius University

[email protected]

$ O$_{4}$-NC/GR/Cu, AND Co$_{3}$O$_{4}$-Cr$_{2}$O$_{3}$-NC/GR/Cu} Since the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in fuel cells needs to be catalyzed heterogeneously, conductive substrates such as carbon materials are always needed in the construction of electrocatalysts. In order to increase the conductivity and improve the substrate-loading interaction, a graphene film was electrodeposited on the copper (Cu) substrate from the stable aqueous dispersion of graphene (GR) and the surfactant sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS). Then, the N-doped carbon supported Co$_{3}$O$_{4}$ or Co$_{3}$O$_{4}$-Cr$_{2}$O$_{3}$ particles (denoted as Co$_{3}$O$_{4}$-NC or Co$_{3}$O$_{4}$-Cr$_{2}$O$_{3}$-NC) were grown on the prepared GR/Cu electrodes. The hydrothermal method was applied to synthesize the Co$_{3}$O$_{4}$ or Co$_{3}$O$_{4}$-Cr$_{2}$O$_{3}$ particles. The resulting materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), while the electrocatalytic activity for ORR was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) in an O$_{2}$-saturated 0.1 M KOH solution. The data for ORR on the GR/Cu, Co$_{3}$O$_{4}$-NC/GR/Cu, and Co$_{3}$O$_{4}$-Cr$_{2}$O$_{3}$-NC/GR/Cu catalysts in an alkaline medium are compared and discussed based on the electrochemical data. This research was funded by a grant (No. P-ST-24-380) from the Research Council of Lithuania.