Enhancing ORR by improving ink dispersion of Fe/Co-N-C catalyst layer on glassy carbon electrode using different organic solvent mixtures

In this study, we investigate the impact of different solvent dielectric constants on the ink dispersion of Fe/Co-N-C catalyst layers on glassy carbon electrodes for the enhancement of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in glucose fuel cells. By utilizing a range of solvents with varying dielectric constants, we aim to optimize the catalyst loading and uniformity of the ink dispersion, ultimately leading to improved ORR performance. Our results demonstrate that the dielectric constant of the solvent plays a crucial role in the ink dispersion process, with higher dielectric constants leading to improved catalyst layer uniformity and ORR efficiency. At first, we make different inks with 2 mg of electrocatalyst, 0.3 ml of solvent and 0.08 g of 5% Nafion solution. Then, in 6 intervals of 5 minutes, we dispersed the inks in the ultrasonic bath sonicator. After that, we coating a few drops of each ink on the glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) test was done using a potentiostat-galvanostat 2273 EG G device, which had a platinum plate counter electrode and a Ag/AgCl reference electrode.