Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences Vol 26 No 3 (2022): 571 - 580

 

 

 

 

POTENTIAL OF TEXTILE WASTE AS NITROGEN DOPED POROUS CARBON FOR OXYGEN REDUCTION REACTION

 

(Potensi Sisa Tekstil Sebagai Karbon Poros Terdop Nitrogen Berliang untuk Tindak Balas Penurunan Oksigen)

 

Suhaila Mohd Sauid^{1, 3}, Siti Kartom Kamarudin^1,2*, Loh Kee Shyuan¹

 

¹Fuel Cell Institute

²Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

³School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering

Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

 

*Corresponding author:  ctie@ukm.edu.my

 

 

Received: 13 December 2021; Accepted: 27 February 2022; Published:  27 June 2022

 

 

Abstract

Transforming waste into usable materials can protect and conserve the environment, thereby reducing the dependence on landfills, limiting the use of natural resources, and decreasing the carbon footprint. Every year, millions of tons of textile waste are sent to landfills primarily from discarded clothing. Therefore, this waste is worthwhile to convert into functional carbon product. Herein, textile waste from used clothing was converted into nitrogen-doped porous carbons (TNPC) by simple chemical activation followed by carbonisation. Urea and calcium chloride (CaCl₂) served as nitrogen precursor and pore forming agent, respectively. The surface area and porosity of the prepared TNPCs were affected by the activation temperature. The optimal sample (TNPC900) activated at 900 °C exhibited a large surface area (496 m² g^–1) with appropriate porosity and a reasonable amount of nitrogen doped. Remarkably, the resultant TNPC900 catalyst tested as the electrode material for oxygen reduction reaction in 0.1 M KOH exhibited an outstanding positive onset potential of 0.94 V vs. RHE. TNCP900 catalyst also demonstrated superior stability and tolerance to methanol than Pt/C. Overall, this study showed that the conversion of textile waste through a simple synthesis technique into electrocatalyst could offer a sustainable alternative to Pt for potential applications in fuel cell and energy-storage technology.

 

Keywords:  textile waste, nitrogen-doped porous carbon, oxygen reduction reaction, metal-free catalyst

 

Abstrak

Mengubah sisa menjadi bahan yang boleh digunakan dapat melindungi dan memulihara alam sekitar sekaligus dapat mengurangkan kebergantungan pada tapak pelupusan sampah, mengehadkan penggunaan sumber semula jadi, dan mengurangkan jejak karbon. Setiap tahun, jutaan ton sisa tekstil dihantar ke tapak pelupusan sampah terutama dari pakaian terpakai. Oleh itu,  menukar sisa ini menjadi produk karbon berfungsi adalah usaha yang berbaloi.  Di sini,  sisa tekstil daripada pakaian terpakai telah ditukar kepada karbon berliang terdop nitrogen (TNPC) dengan pengaktifan kimia mudah diikuti dengan langkah karbonisasi. Urea dan kalsium klorida  (CaCl₂)  bertindak masing-masing sebagai  bahan sumber nitrogen dan ejen pembentukan liang. Keluasan permukaan dan keliangan  TNPC yang disediakan telah dipengaruhi oleh suhu pengaktifan. Sampel optimum  (TNPC900) diaktifkan pada 900 ° C mempamerkan keluasan permukaan yang besar  (496 m²  g^-1)  dengan  keliangan dan jumlah nitrogen terdop yang sesuai. Mangkin TNPC900 yang diuji sebagai bahan elektrod untuk tindak balas penurunan oksigen (ORR) di dalam larutan 0.1 M KOH menunjukkan potensi permulaan positif yang luar biasa iaitu 0.94 V vs RHE. Selain itu, mangkin TNCP900 menunjukkan kestabilan dan toleransi yang unggul terhadap metanol  daripada mangkin Pt/C. Oleh itu, kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa penukaran sisa tekstil menggunakan teknik sintesis  yang mudah  menjadi elektmangkin dapat menawarkan alternatif Pt yang  mampan untuk aplikasi di dalam sel bahan api dan teknologi penyimpanan tenaga.

 

Kata kunci:  sisa tekstil, karbon poros terdop nitrogen, tindak balas penurunan oksigen, mangkin bebas metal

 

 

Graphical Abstract

 

 

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