Synthesis of electro-catalysts Fe–N/C and core–shell structured Fe@SiO 2 using e-beam irradiation

In this work, the Fe–N/C catalyst and core–shell Fe@SiO 2 nanoparticle was synthesized using electron beam (e-beam) irradiation to improve the oxygen reduction reaction activity in the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. The Fe–N x and Fe cores were synthesized at 80 kGy, and the SiO 2 shell was manufactured at 40 kGy using e-beam irradiation. The coordination between Fe and 1,10-phenanthroline was effectively controlled by the molecular structure of bidentate. The material properties of the Fe–N/C catalysts were investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The pyridinic N % was found to be 63.7% and 66.7% for Fe–N/C and 57 Fe–N/C catalysts. Furthermore, the electrochemical properties of the Fe–N/C catalysts were investigated by Linear Sweep Voltammetry (LSV) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The Fe–N/C catalyst showed higher activity at half-cells in 0.1 M HClO 4 solution than the Fe–N/C catalyst synthesized by ultrasonic irradiation. The shell formation of SiO 2 , which prevents Fe oxidation, was confirmed by EDS mapping in Fe@SiO 2 .