Molecular Iron Oxide Clusters Boost the Oxygen Reduction Reaction of Platinum Electrocatalysts at Near-Neutral pH

Jia-Qi Lv; Zhong-Ling Lang; Jia-Qi Fu; Qiao Lan; Rongji Liu; Hong-Ying Zang; Yang-Guang Li; Ding-Ding Ye; Carsten Streb

doi:10.1002/anie.202202650

Molecular Iron Oxide Clusters Boost the Oxygen Reduction Reaction of Platinum Electrocatalysts at Near-Neutral pH

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2022 Sep 19;61(38):e202202650. doi: 10.1002/anie.202202650. Epub 2022 Apr 21.

Authors

Jia-Qi Lv¹, Zhong-Ling Lang², Jia-Qi Fu¹, Qiao Lan³, Rongji Liu^{4

5}, Hong-Ying Zang¹, Yang-Guang Li¹, Ding-Ding Ye³, Carsten Streb^{4

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Key Lab of Polyoxometalate, Science of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Nanobiosensing and Nanobioanalysis at Universities of Jilin Province, Institute of Functional Material Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China.
² Centre for Advanced Optoelectronic Functional Materials Research and Key Laboratory for UV Light-Emitting Materials and Technology of Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China.
³ Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Chongqing University, No. 174 Shazheng Street, Shapingba District, Chongqing, 400030, China.
⁴ Institute of Inorganic Chemistry I, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081, Ulm, Germany.
⁵ Helmholtz-Institute Ulm (HIU), Helmholtzstr. 11, 89081, Ulm, Germany.
⁶ Department of Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Duesbergweg 10-14, 55131, Mainz, Germany.

Abstract

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is a key energy conversion process, which is critical for the efficient operation of fuel cells and metal-air batteries. Here, we report the significant enhancement of the ORR-performance of commercial platinum-on-carbon electrocatalysts when operated in aqueous electrolyte solutions (pH 5.6), containing the polyoxoanion [Fe₂₈ (μ₃ -O)₈ (L-(-)-tart)₁₆ (CH₃ COO)₂₄ ]^20- . Mechanistic studies provide initial insights into the performance-improving role of the iron oxide cluster during ORR. Technological deployment of the system is demonstrated by incorporation into a direct formate microfluidic fuel cell (DFMFC), where major performance increases are observed when compared with reference electrolytes. The study provides the first examples of iron oxide clusters in electrochemical energy conversion and storage.

Keywords: Electrocatalysis; Iron Oxide; Oxygen Reduction Reaction; Polyoxometalates; Self-Assembly.

Abstract

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