Plasma-Assisted Synthesis of Metal Nitrides for an Efficient Platinum-Group-Metal-Free Anion-Exchange-Membrane Fuel Cell
Xiaolong Zhang, Shao‐Jin Hu, Ye-Hua Wang, Lei Shi, Yang Yu, Min‐Rui Gao
Abstract
In comparison to the well-developed proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells, anion-exchange-membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) permit adoption of platinum-group-metal (PGM)-free catalysts due to the alkaline environment, giving a substantial cost reduction. However, previous AEMFCs have generally shown unsatisfactory performances due to the lack of effective PGM-free catalysts that can endure harsh fuel cell conditions. Here we report a plasma-assisted synthesis of high-quality nickel nitride (Ni3N) and zirconium nitride (ZrN) employing dinitrogen as the nitrogen resource, exhibiting exceptional catalytic performances toward hydrogen oxidation and oxygen reduction in an alkaline enviroment, respectively. A PGM-free AEMFC assembled by using Ni3N as the anode and ZrN as the cathode delivers power densities of 256 mW cm–2 under an H2–O2 condition and 151 mW cm–2 under an H2–air condition. Furthermore, the fuel cell shows no evidence of degradation after 25 h of operation. This work creates opportunities for developing high-performance and durable AEMFCs based on metal nitrides.