Metal-Nitrogen-Carbon Catalyst

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Background Metal-nitrogen-carbon (M-N-C) catalysts were found to be active for electrochemical oxygen reduction applications in fuel cell membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs), stacks and fuel cell systems.  However, M-N-C catalysts suffer from a few significant disadvantages, including low stability in acid media, low activity compared to conventional oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst (platinum), and high cost of precursors.  Due to a growing market need, a good deal of research in the field of catalysis and electrocatalysis is focused on producing highly active, highly stable catalysts at low cost.  Technology Description University of New Mexico researchers have developed a method of preparing metal-nitrogen-carbon (M-N-C) networks, derived from amino-nitriles of materials as a source of carbon and nitrogen and metal soluble salts as a source of metal.  The preparation method is based on a sacrificial supports method combined with a tuning of M-N-C morphological, structural and electronic properties to achieve high performance for oxygen reduction reactions in fuel cell operations.  The synthesized catalysts made using this approach perform well in alkaline, acid and neutral media are highly durable, and inexpensive to manufacture. Advantages/Applications Amino-nitrile precursors are plentiful and readily available  High performance in alkaline, acid and neutral media Highly durable Inexpensive to manufacture Could be used in electrochemistry applications after tuning of their properties in way to increase their stability, activity and decrease the costs of precursors. Fuel cell membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs), stacks and fuel cell systems applications