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Electrocatalytic activity of carbon-supported metallophthalocyanine catalysts toward oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline solution

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Abstract

Carbon-supported metallophthalocyanine catalysts, composed of a transition central metal M (M = Co, Mn, Ni, Fe) in the phthalocyanine ring, were synthesized in this work. As cathodic reaction in a fuel cell, the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was investigated in alkaline medium with linear scanning voltammetry at the surface of these electrocatalysts deposited onto a rotating disk electrode (RDE). It was found that the number of electrons transferred depended on the nature of the metallic cation in the catalyst. Evidences provided with Koutecky-Levich approach showed that iron phthalocyanine (FePc) exhibited the better electrocatalytic ability toward the ORR with four electrons exchanged and low activation overpotential. Among these different as-prepared materials, MnPc and FePc led to a four-electron pathway, while CoPc and NiPc proceeded by a two-electron route. The latter reaction process was also determined with a rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE), which allowed the determination of hydrogen peroxide formed as O2 reduction intermediate in a small amount, i.e., less than 1.2 %.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the University of Ouagadougou, the University of Poitiers, and Region Poitou-Charentes for their financial support. S. Hebié is particularly grateful to the Region Poitou-Charentes for supporting his Master research grant (Bourse Régionale de la Découverte 2009–2010, grant number : 932-28 EFFM).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université de Poitiers, IC2MP, UMR-CNRS 7285, “SAMCat Group”, 4 rue Michel Brunet B27, TSA 51106, 86073, Poitiers cedex 9, France

    Seydou Hebié, Karine Servat, Claudia Morais, Teko W. Napporn & K. Boniface Kokoh

  2. Département de Chimie, Equipe de Chimie de Coordination, Laboratoire de Chimie Moléculaire et de Matériaux, UFR-SEA, Université de Ouagadougou, 03 BP 7021, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

    Mabinty Bayo-Bangoura & Karifa Bayo

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  1. Seydou Hebié
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Correspondence to K. Boniface Kokoh.

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This paper is dedicated to Professor José H. Zagal on the occasion of his 65th birthday and in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the ORR mechanism on metallophthalocyanine and metalloporphyrin catalysts

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Hebié, S., Bayo-Bangoura, M., Bayo, K. et al. Electrocatalytic activity of carbon-supported metallophthalocyanine catalysts toward oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline solution. J Solid State Electrochem 20, 931–942 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-015-2932-6

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