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Advanced Electrocatalytic Materials for Polymer Electrolyte Water Electrolyzers and Metal–Air...
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Advanced Electrocatalytic Materials for Polymer Electrolyte Water Electrolyzers and Metal–Air Batteries

A special issue of Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344). This special issue belongs to the section "Electrocatalysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 March 2024) | Viewed by 3787

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Barbara Mecheri

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Science and Technologies, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
Interests: fuel cells; electrochemistry of energy conversion and storage devices; structure and transport properties in polymer electrolytes; electrocatalysis; bioelectrochemical systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Williane Da Silva Freitas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Science and Technologies, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via Della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Rome, Italy
Interests: electrochemistry of energy conversion and storage devices; synthesis and characterization of carbon-based nanostructured electrocatalysts; fuel cells; bioelectrochemical systems; redox flow batteries, zinc–air batteries and electrolyzers

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Transition towards the decarbonization of the global economy calls for innovative scientific and technological solutions for power generation and energy storage that are able to reduce the dependence of mobility and industry sectors on fossil fuels. Currently, low-temperature polymer electrolyte water electrolyzers (PEWEs) operating in acidic or alkaline environments and rechargeable metal–air batteries (e.g., alkaline zinc–air batteries (ZABs)) are hot research topics. ZABs are promising for energy storage and power supply in electrical vehicles, and the hydrogen economy relies on the electrochemical water splitting in PEWEs. Despite the high performance of ZABs and PEWEs, their development has been particularly hampered by the sluggish oxygen redox kinetics and performance durability. Both oxygen evolution and reduction reactions (OER/ORR) at the cathode of ZABs require the use of low-abundance and expensive platinum-group metals (PGMs). Moreover, the durability of the cathode performance over long-term cycling, cathode configuration, as well as the presence of parasitic reactions at the Zn anode need to be addressed. In PEWE systems, the sluggish OER at the anode and the management of gas (H2 and O2) bubbles at both the electrodes’ surface and porous transport layers limit performance and durability. This Special Issue aims to collect innovative scientific contributions focusing on the main issues found in Zn–air batteries and PEWEs devices including, but not limited to, the development and characterization of PGM-free electrocatalysts for both anodic and cathodic reactions, as well as the optimization of electrode configurations and membranes.

Dr. Barbara Mecheri
Dr. Williane Da Silva Freitas
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Catalysts is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • acidic and alkaline polymer electrolyte water electrolyzers
  • zinc–air batteries
  • hydrogen evolution reaction (HER)
  • multi-functional catalysts for OER, ORR and HER
  • electrode materials
  • porous transport layer
  • platinum group metal-free catalysts
  • nanostructured carbon-based catalysts
  • OER, ORR and HER kinetics
  • anode and cathode characterization and modeling
  • polymeric membranes

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3129 KiB  
Article
Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution of Transition Metal (Fe, Co and Cu)–Corrole Complexes Bearing an Imidazole Group
by Ling-Wei Wu, Yan-Fang Yao, Shi-Yin Xu, Xu-You Cao, Yan-Wei Ren, Li-Ping Si and Hai-Yang Liu
Catalysts 2024, 14(1), 5; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal14010005 (registering DOI) - 19 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1076
Abstract
The study of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by non-noble transition metals is of great significance for the production of hydrogen energy. In this work, a new 5,15-bis-(pentafluorophenyl)-10-[4-(1H-imidazole) phenyl]-corrole and its metal complexes (metal = Co, Cu, Fe) were synthesized and used for [...] Read more.
The study of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by non-noble transition metals is of great significance for the production of hydrogen energy. In this work, a new 5,15-bis-(pentafluorophenyl)-10-[4-(1H-imidazole) phenyl]-corrole and its metal complexes (metal = Co, Cu, Fe) were synthesized and used for electrocatalyzed HER in DMF organic solvent and aqueous media. The prepared cobalt corrole showed the best catalytic performance in both media. Its turnover frequency (TOF) and catalytic efficiency (C.E) could reach 265 s−1 and 1.04 when TsOH was used as the proton source in a DMF solvent. In aqueous media, its TOF could also reach 405 h−1. The catalytic HER may go through an EECEC or ECEC (E: electron transfer, C: chemical step) pathway for these catalysts, depending on the acidity and concentration of the proton source. The present work successfully demonstrates that imidazole at a meso-phenyl group may improve the electrocatalytic HER activity of transition metal corroles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Electrocatalytic Materials for Polymer Electrolyte Water Electrolyzers and Metal–Air Batteries)
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14 pages, 7606 KiB  
Article
Development and Optimization of Air-Electrodes for Rechargeable Zn–Air Batteries
by Khair Un Nisa, Williane da Silva Freitas, Jorge Montero, Alessandra D’Epifanio and Barbara Mecheri
Catalysts 2023, 13(10), 1319; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal13101319 - 23 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2137
Abstract
Rechargeable Zn–air batteries (ZABs) can play a significant role in the transition to a cleaner and more sustainable energy system due to their high theoretical energy density, high cell voltage, and environmental friendliness. ZAB’s air cathode is the principal determinant in predicting the [...] Read more.
Rechargeable Zn–air batteries (ZABs) can play a significant role in the transition to a cleaner and more sustainable energy system due to their high theoretical energy density, high cell voltage, and environmental friendliness. ZAB’s air cathode is the principal determinant in predicting the battery’s overall performance, as it is responsible for catalyzing the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) during the discharging and charging process, respectively. In this work, a detailed optimization study of the architecture of the air cathode was carried out using the benchmark bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst (Pt/C-RuO2). The air cathode composition and architecture were optimized regarding the choice of the commercial gas diffusion layer (GDL), the effect of hot pressing the catalyst layer (CL), and the optimum pore size of the current collector. The best cathode from this study shows a maximum power density (PDmax) of 167 mW/cm2, with a round trip efficiency and a voltage gap (Egap) of 59.8% and 0.78 V, respectively, indicating the air cathodes preparation approach proposed in this work as a promising strategy for the improvement of the overall performance of ZABs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Electrocatalytic Materials for Polymer Electrolyte Water Electrolyzers and Metal–Air Batteries)
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