Self-Standing Carbon Fiber Electrodes Doped with Pd Nanoparticles as Electrocatalysts in Zinc–Air Batteries
In this work, the effect of the palladium precursor on the Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) performance of lignin-based electrospun carbon fibers was studied. The fibers were spun from a lignin-ethanol solution free of any binder, where different Pd salts were added at two concentration levels. The s...
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| author | Cristian Daniel Jaimes-Paez Miguel García-Rollán Francisco José García-Mateos Ramiro Ruiz-Rosas Juana M. Rosas José Rodríguez-Mirasol Tomás Cordero Emilia Morallón Diego Cazorla-Amorós |
| author_facet | Cristian Daniel Jaimes-Paez Miguel García-Rollán Francisco José García-Mateos Ramiro Ruiz-Rosas Juana M. Rosas José Rodríguez-Mirasol Tomás Cordero Emilia Morallón Diego Cazorla-Amorós |
| author_sort | Cristian Daniel Jaimes-Paez |
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| description | In this work, the effect of the palladium precursor on the Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) performance of lignin-based electrospun carbon fibers was studied. The fibers were spun from a lignin-ethanol solution free of any binder, where different Pd salts were added at two concentration levels. The system implemented to perform the spinning was a coaxial setup in which the internal flow contains the precursor dispersion with the metallic precursor, and ethanol was used as external flow to help fiber formation and prevent drying before generating the Taylor cone. The obtained cloths were thermostabilized in air at 200 °C and carbonized in nitrogen at 900 °C. The resulting carbon fibers were characterized by physicochemical and electrochemical techniques. The palladium precursor significantly affects nanoparticle distribution and size, fiber diameter, pore distribution, surface area and electrochemical behavior. The fibers prepared with palladium acetylacetonate at high Pd loading and carbonized at 900 °C under a CO<sub>2</sub> atmosphere showed high mechanical stability and the best ORR activity, showing near total selectivity towards the 4-electron path. These features are comparable to those of the commercial Pt/C catalyst but much lower metal loading (10.6 wt.% vs. 20 wt.%). The most promising fibers have been evaluated as cathodes in a zinc–air battery, delivering astonishing stability results that surpassed the performance of commercial Pt/C materials in both charging and discharging processes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1199db8e2dea4a72b6aa9fe023eed2de |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1420-3049 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
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| series | Molecules |
| spelling | doaj-art-1199db8e2dea4a72b6aa9fe023eed2de2025-08-20T03:16:23ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492025-06-013012248710.3390/molecules30122487Self-Standing Carbon Fiber Electrodes Doped with Pd Nanoparticles as Electrocatalysts in Zinc–Air BatteriesCristian Daniel Jaimes-Paez0Miguel García-Rollán1Francisco José García-Mateos2Ramiro Ruiz-Rosas3Juana M. Rosas4José Rodríguez-Mirasol5Tomás Cordero6Emilia Morallón7Diego Cazorla-Amorós8Departamento de Química Física, Instituto Universitario de Materiales de Alicante (IUMA), University of Alicante, Ap. 99, 03080 Alicante, SpainDepartamento de Ingeniería Química, Andalucía Tech, University of Malaga, Campus de Teatinos s/n, 29010 Malaga, SpainDepartamento de Ingeniería Química, Andalucía Tech, University of Malaga, Campus de Teatinos s/n, 29010 Malaga, SpainDepartamento de Ingeniería Química, Andalucía Tech, University of Malaga, Campus de Teatinos s/n, 29010 Malaga, SpainDepartamento de Ingeniería Química, Andalucía Tech, University of Malaga, Campus de Teatinos s/n, 29010 Malaga, SpainDepartamento de Ingeniería Química, Andalucía Tech, University of Malaga, Campus de Teatinos s/n, 29010 Malaga, SpainDepartamento de Ingeniería Química, Andalucía Tech, University of Malaga, Campus de Teatinos s/n, 29010 Malaga, SpainDepartamento de Química Física, Instituto Universitario de Materiales de Alicante (IUMA), University of Alicante, Ap. 99, 03080 Alicante, SpainDepartamento de Química Inorgánica, Instituto Universitario de Materiales de Alicante (IUMA), University of Alicante, Ap. 99, 03080 Alicante, SpainIn this work, the effect of the palladium precursor on the Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) performance of lignin-based electrospun carbon fibers was studied. The fibers were spun from a lignin-ethanol solution free of any binder, where different Pd salts were added at two concentration levels. The system implemented to perform the spinning was a coaxial setup in which the internal flow contains the precursor dispersion with the metallic precursor, and ethanol was used as external flow to help fiber formation and prevent drying before generating the Taylor cone. The obtained cloths were thermostabilized in air at 200 °C and carbonized in nitrogen at 900 °C. The resulting carbon fibers were characterized by physicochemical and electrochemical techniques. The palladium precursor significantly affects nanoparticle distribution and size, fiber diameter, pore distribution, surface area and electrochemical behavior. The fibers prepared with palladium acetylacetonate at high Pd loading and carbonized at 900 °C under a CO<sub>2</sub> atmosphere showed high mechanical stability and the best ORR activity, showing near total selectivity towards the 4-electron path. These features are comparable to those of the commercial Pt/C catalyst but much lower metal loading (10.6 wt.% vs. 20 wt.%). The most promising fibers have been evaluated as cathodes in a zinc–air battery, delivering astonishing stability results that surpassed the performance of commercial Pt/C materials in both charging and discharging processes.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/12/2487carbon fibersligninelectrospinningelectrocatalystORRZn-air battery |
| spellingShingle | Cristian Daniel Jaimes-Paez Miguel García-Rollán Francisco José García-Mateos Ramiro Ruiz-Rosas Juana M. Rosas José Rodríguez-Mirasol Tomás Cordero Emilia Morallón Diego Cazorla-Amorós Self-Standing Carbon Fiber Electrodes Doped with Pd Nanoparticles as Electrocatalysts in Zinc–Air Batteries Molecules carbon fibers lignin electrospinning electrocatalyst ORR Zn-air battery |
| title | Self-Standing Carbon Fiber Electrodes Doped with Pd Nanoparticles as Electrocatalysts in Zinc–Air Batteries |
| title_full | Self-Standing Carbon Fiber Electrodes Doped with Pd Nanoparticles as Electrocatalysts in Zinc–Air Batteries |
| title_fullStr | Self-Standing Carbon Fiber Electrodes Doped with Pd Nanoparticles as Electrocatalysts in Zinc–Air Batteries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Self-Standing Carbon Fiber Electrodes Doped with Pd Nanoparticles as Electrocatalysts in Zinc–Air Batteries |
| title_short | Self-Standing Carbon Fiber Electrodes Doped with Pd Nanoparticles as Electrocatalysts in Zinc–Air Batteries |
| title_sort | self standing carbon fiber electrodes doped with pd nanoparticles as electrocatalysts in zinc air batteries |
| topic | carbon fibers lignin electrospinning electrocatalyst ORR Zn-air battery |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/12/2487 |
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