DOI: https://doi.org/10.61435/ijred.2025.61196

Development of FeCo/C and AgFeCo/C cathode catalysts for xylitol membraneless alkaline fuel cells

1Department of Physical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Digital Innovation, Thaksin University, Phatthalung Campus, Papayom District, Phatthalung Province, 93210, Thailand

2Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ubon Ratchathani University, 85 Sathonlamark Road, Warin Chamrap District, Ubon Ratchathani Province, 34190, Thailand

3Faculty of Engineering, Thaksin University, Phatthalung Campus, Papayom District, Phatthalung Province, 93210, Thailand

Received: 13 Mar 2025; Revised: 26 May 2025; Accepted: 10 Jun 2025; Available online: 26 Jun 2025; Published: 1 Jul 2025.
Editor(s): H Hadiyanto
Open Access Copyright (c) 2025 The Author(s). Published by Centre of Biomass and Renewable Energy (CBIORE)
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Abstract

In the study, researchers developed and characterized xylitol membraneless alkaline fuel cell catalysts—namely FeCo/C, AgFeCo/C, and Pd/C—for cathodes and anodes. The first part of our investigation details the catalysts' morphology and elemental composition. STEM, EDS, and EDS mapping confirmed that the catalysts exhibited a small, lumpy structure, with the alloy well-dispersed across the support material. The X-ray diffraction pattern for the cathode catalyst reveals that the spectral lines corresponding to the Ag metal peak at a 2θ maximum of 38.12 degrees exhibit a 111 pattern, suggesting the existence of Ag metal particles in a face-centered cubic (fcc) arrangement. Meanwhile, the metal peaks for Fe3O4 and Co3O4 appear at maximum 2θ positions of 35.45 and 30.09 degrees, respectively, displaying 311 and 220 patterns, which indicate the presence of Fe3O4 and Co3O4 particles with spinel cubic structures. In the case of the anode catalyst, the spectral line for the Pd metal peak at a 2θ maximum of 40.12 degrees shows a 111 pattern, confirming the presence of Pd metal particles with a face-centered cubic (fcc) structure. Second, to determine the electrocatalytic properties, cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements were conducted with xylitol as the fuel, utilizing concentrations between 0.1 and 0.5 M in 0.1 M KOH. For the cathode-side FeCo/C and AgFeCo/C catalysts, oxidation resistance was observed, and the reduction reaction diminished with increasing xylitol concentration, attributed to interfering non-conductive hydrocarbons. Conversely, Pd/C catalysts exhibited remarkable catalytic performance, particularly at 0.1 M xylitol solution, where the oxidation peak current density reached a maximum of 0.9 mA·cm⁻² at -0.09 V. Finally, the researchers reported that the Pd/C-AgFeCo/C catalyst achieved the highest current density of 0.36 A·m⁻² and a maximum power density of 0.129 W·m⁻² for xylitol fuel cell applications.

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Keywords: Alkaline fuel cell; Cathode; Catalyst; Xylitol; Fuel cell
Funding: This research was supported by Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI), Thailand funded 2024.

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Section: Original Research Article
Language : EN
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