Issue 16, 2024

Designing one-compartment H2O2 fuel cell using electroactive phenalenyl-based [Fe2(hnmh-PLY)3] complex as the cathode material

Abstract

The sustainable chemical energy of H2O2 as a fuel and an oxidant in an advantageous single-compartment fuel cell design can be converted into electric energy, which requires molecular engineering to design suitable cathodes for lowering the high overpotential associated with H2O2 reduction. The present work covers the synthesis and structural characterization of a novel cathode material, [FeIII2(hnmh-PLY)3] complex, 1, designed from a PLY-derived Schiff base ligand (E)-9-(2-((2-hydroxynaphthalen-1-yl)methylene)hydrazineyl)-1H-phenalen-1-one, hnmh-PLYH2. Complex 1, when coated on the surface of a glassy carbon electrode (GC-1) significantly catalyzed the reduction of H2O2 in an acidic medium. Therefore, a complex 1 modified glassy carbon electrode was employed in a one-compartment H2O2 fuel cell operated in 0.1 M HCl with Ni foam as the corresponding anode to produce a high open circuit potential (OCP) of 0.65 V and a peak power density (PPD) of 2.84 mW cm−2. CV studies of complex 1 revealed the crucial participation of two Fe(III) centers for initiating H2O2 reduction, and the role of coordinated redox-active PLY units is also highlighted. In the solid state, the π-conjugated network of coordinating (hnmh-PLY) ligands in complex 1 has manifested interesting face-to-face π–π stacking interactions, which have helped the reduction of the complex and facilitated the overall catalytic performance.

Graphical abstract: Designing one-compartment H2O2 fuel cell using electroactive phenalenyl-based [Fe2(hnmh-PLY)3] complex as the cathode material

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
16 Jan 2024
Accepted
22 Mar 2024
First published
26 Mar 2024

Dalton Trans., 2024,53, 7152-7162

Designing one-compartment H2O2 fuel cell using electroactive phenalenyl-based [Fe2(hnmh-PLY)3] complex as the cathode material

N. Kamboj, A. Dey, S. Birara, M. Majumder, S. Sengupta and R. K. Metre, Dalton Trans., 2024, 53, 7152 DOI: 10.1039/D4DT00134F

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements