Nitrogen-doped carbide-derived carbon/carbon nanotube composites as cathode catalysts for anion exchange membrane fuel cell application

Nitrogen-doped carbide-derived carbon/carbon nanotube (CDC/CNT) composites were prepared and employed for the first time as a cathode electrocatalyst for the anion exchange membrane fuel cell (AEMFC). The CDC/CNT composites were doped with nitrogen using high temperature pyrolysis in the presence of different nitrogen precursors. In the rotating disk electrode measurements all N-CDC/CNT catalysts showed good electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline solution with the half-wave potential (E1/2) around –0.25 V vs SCE. Moreover, the materials showed high tolerance to methanol and excellent stability after 10,000 potential cycles with a negative shift in E1/2 of 10 and 14 mV, respectively. In AEMFC testing employing hexamethyl-p-terphenyl poly(benzimidazolium) (HMT-PMBI) anion exchange membrane, N-CDC/CNT as a cathode catalyst exhibited very good performance with the peak power density of 310 mW cm–2. It can be concluded that the N-CDC/CNT composites are promising cathode catalysts for AEMFCs and alkaline direct methanol fuel cells.