Biomass-Derived Catalyst Powers Up Clean Energy
Published 21 January, 2025
The pursuit of clean, sustainable energy has driven researchers to explore innovative materials and processes. However, a major hurdle in the development of advanced energy storage devices, such as fuel cells and metal-air batteries, is sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). While platinum-based catalysts have traditionally dominated the field, their high cost and scarcity warrant the need for more affordable and abundant alternatives.
To that end, a group of researchers at East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST), led by Professor Jin-Gang Liu, developed a novel, high-performance catalyst derived from sustainable biomass. Their findings are published in the KeAi journal Green Energy & Environment.
The team's approach involves utilizing carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), a readily available biomass material, as the foundation for the catalyst.
“By combining CMC with iron and phosphorus, we created a unique structure with "Fe-N3P" active sites,” shares Liu. “This structure enhances catalytic activity by facilitating the removal of key reaction intermediates, ultimately boosting ORR efficiency.”
The researchers compared their biomass-derived catalyst (FeNPC) to traditional options and found it to outperform them significantly in both alkaline solutions and zinc-air batteries. FeNPC exhibited superior activity, stability and power density, making it a potential candidate for real-world applications.
“One of the most notable aspects of this research is the use of biomass as a starting material. This approach not only reduces reliance on limited resources, but also aligns with the principles of a circular economy, encouraging further exploration of biomass-derived catalysts for various clean energy applications,” says Liu.
Contact author: Jin-Gang Liu, Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, School of Chemistry & Molecular Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, P. R. China, E-mail: liujingang@ecust.edu.cn.
Funder: the Program for Professor of Special Appointment (Eastern Scholar) at the Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning to JGL, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 222201717003).
Conflict of interest: There are no conflicts to declare.
See the article: Guo, Peng-Peng, et al. "Biomass-derived single atom catalysts with phosphorus-coordinated Fe-N3P configuration for efficient oxygen reduction reaction." Green Energy & Environment (2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gee.2024.11.002.