# Facile Synthesis of Non-Noble CuFeCo/C Catalysts with High Stability for ORR in PEMFC

## TL;DR

Researchers developed a stable and efficient non-noble metal catalyst for fuel cells, which could help make them more affordable and practical.

## Contribution

A facile synthesis of CuFeCo/C non-noble metal catalyst with high ORR activity and stability is introduced.

## Key findings

- CuFeCo/C catalyst shows an oxygen reduction peak at ~0.64 V and a half-wave potential of ~0.73 V.
- The catalyst exhibits a Tafel slope of ~−0.08 and high long-term stability in 10,800 s chronoamperometry tests.

## Abstract

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have been widely studied as an efficient and environmentally friendly energy conversion technology in recent years. However, the high cost, easy poisoning and complex synthesis methods of noble metal catalysts have hindered their commercialization. Therefore, in this paper, a non-noble metal composite catalyst CuFeCo/C for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was prepared by using a facile liquid-phase reduction method. The ORR kinetic performance of CuFeCo/C was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) tests. The results show that the oxygen reduction peak of CuFeCo/C appears at about 0.64 V, the half-wave potential is about 0.73 V, the limiting current density is about −16.51 A·m−2, and the Tafel slope is about −0.08. The 10,800 s chronoamperometry test shows that the catalyst has a very good long-term cycle stability. This indicates that the CuFeCo/C composite catalyst has strong stability, good conductivity and ORR catalytic activity under alkaline conditions, which can promote the large-scale commercial application of PEMFCs.