Effect of Acidic Washing Treatment for Fe-N/C Catalyst Synthesized Using E-beam Irradiation

Fe-N/C electrocatalysts was synthesized using electron beam (e-beam) irradiation to improve the oxygen reduction reaction activity in the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. After synthesizing, the characteristics of catalyst before and after acid washing treatment were measured in the rotating disk electrode (RDE). It was confirmed that the catalyst was successfully synthesized measured using TEM, XRD, and Mossbauer spectroscopy. However, the formation of some impurities, such as oxides, were also confirmed. The electrochemical properties during oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was enhanced after the acidic washing treatment of the catalyst.