According to Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council (INIC), Iranian researchers succeeded in controlled production of graphene and graphene oxide nanosheets at laboratorial scale that may help the economization of fuel cells and energy storage.
Although fuel cells will play a very important role in future as the convertors of green fuels, their expensive price limits wide applications of these devices in the routine life. Therefore, these devices will be used more often by people in a natural manner in case raw materials with reasonable price are prepared to produce main parts of the fuel cells, including membranes and catalysts.
The aim of the research was to produce nanostructures as catalyst holders to be used in proton membrane fuel cells to reduce the final price of the devices.
Graphene and graphene oxide are usually synthesized through Hummer’s method or Hummer’s modified method, which does not have the ability of industrial production. In addition, many chemicals and pollutants are used in those two methods, which put the health of people and environment at risk.
In this research, graphene oxide nanosheets are produced through electrochemical method in a top-down approach, and this method does not have Hummer’s method’s problems. Reduction in production cost is another advantage of this method. The results of the research will have application in the production of green energies.
Results of the research have been published in Electrochemica Acta, vol. 165, 2015, pp. 330-337.
MS/PR