Preparation of electrocatalyst from mango seeds for direct methanol fuel cell

Catalysts are important equipment that directly affect the performance of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC). The use of suitable electrocatalysts can increase the efficiency of DMFCs. Although platinum-based electrocatalysts have high efficiency for this process, they have high costs and limited resources. In addition, CO poisoning is another disadvantage. In this study, self-assembly monolayers (SAM) films on copper were formed by mango seed extract (MS) in ethanol solvent. The contribution of Cu/MS-SAM electrocatalyst obtained by modifying copper with MS-SAM to methanol oxidation in DMFCs was investigated by comparing it with bare copper. The surface morphology of bare copper and Cu/MS-SAM was characterized by SEM, AFM and EDX mapping methods. Their electrocatalytic activities and stability were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), Nyquist curves and chronoamperometry (CA) tests with alkaline solution containing 1.0 M methanol. The results showed that a durable and homogeneous MS-SAM film was formed on the copper surface from the MS extract in ethanol solvent. It has been observed that the MS-SAM film exhibits highly electroactive properties for the methanol electrooxidation reaction. MS obtained from mango, which is grown in our country and its economic value is increasing over time, can be used in the manufacture of anode materials for methanol electrooxidation reactions.