Nickel-iron nanoparticles encapsulated in carbon nanotubes prepared from waste plastics for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells

Summary: Low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (LT-SOFCs) are a promising next-generation fuel cell due to their low cost and rapid start-up, posing a significant challenge to electrode materials with high electrocatalytic activity. Herein, we reported the bimetallic nanoparticles encapsulated in c...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Qingyu Liu, Faze Wang, Enyi Hu, Ru Hong, Tao Li, Xiangzhou Yuan, Xin-Bing Cheng, Ning Cai, Rui Xiao, Huiyan Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2022-08-01
Series:iScience
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004222011270
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Summary:Summary: Low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (LT-SOFCs) are a promising next-generation fuel cell due to their low cost and rapid start-up, posing a significant challenge to electrode materials with high electrocatalytic activity. Herein, we reported the bimetallic nanoparticles encapsulated in carbon nanotubes (NiFe@CNTs) prepared by carefully controlling catalytic pyrolysis of waste plastics. Results showed that plenty of multi-walled CNTs with outer diameters (14.38 ± 3.84 nm) were observed due to the smallest crystalline size of Ni-Fe alloy nanoparticles. SOFCs with such NiFe@CNTs blended in anode exhibited remarkable performances, reaching a maximum power density of 885 mW cm−2 at 500°C. This could be attributed to the well-dispersed alloy nanoparticles and high graphitization degree of NiFe@CNTs to improve HOR activity. Our strategy could upcycle waste plastics to produce nanocomposites and demonstrate a high-performance LT-SOFCs system, addressing the challenges of sustainable waste management and guaranteeing global energy safety simultaneously.
ISSN:2589-0042