Work

Mandarin Peel Waste-Derived Nitrogen-Doped Porous Carbon Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The development of metal-free, carbon-based electrocatalysts derived from biomass waste has attracted significant attention due to their low cost along with excellent activity, selectivity, and stability for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). In this study, a nitrogen (N)-doped porous carbon catalyst was synthesized from mandarin peel waste (MPW) via a simple thermal treatment method. The optimized electrocatalyst, N-doped MPW-derived catalyst-2 (NMPC-2), exhibits a hierarchically porous structure with a high surface area, facilitating efficient access of reactants to active sites. NMPC-2 demonstrates outstanding ORR activity and stability comparable to that of commercial Pt/C, maintaining excellent performance even over 40,000 cycles of accelerated stability testing. Furthermore, its application in a zinc-air battery shows a high peak power density and stable discharge characteristics. This work presents a simple yet effective strategy for developing biowaste-derived ORR electrocatalysts through a sustainable and practical approach.

Source: Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology

DOI: 10.33961/jecst.2025.00822

Authors: Hyokyeong Ahn, Nayeon Lee, Seol Baek, Je Seung Lee, Sung Yul Lim

Institutions: Kyung Hee University, Sookmyung Women's University

Language: English

Topic: Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion

Subfield: Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

Field: Energy

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Affordable and clean energy, Responsible consumption and production

Open Access status: diamond

Funders: National Research Foundation, Kyung Hee University, National Research Foundation of Korea, Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea