TY - JOUR N2 - The aim of the presented research was to test different carbon supports, such as graphene oxide (GO), graphene oxide modified with ammonia (N-GO), and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) for catalysts used in a low-temperature fuel cell, specifically a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Modification of the carbon supports should lead to different catalytic activity in the fuel cell. Reduction of GO leads to partial removal of oxygen groups from GO, forming rGO. Modification of GO with ammonia results in an enrichment of GO structure with nitrogen. A thorough analysis of the used supports was carried out, using various analytical techniques, such as FTIR spectroscopy and thermogravimetric (TGA) analysis. Palladium and platinum catalysts deposited on these supports were produced and used for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Catalytic activity tests of the prepared catalysts were carried out in a home-made direct formic acid fuel cell (DFAFC). The tests showed that the enrichment of the GO structure with nitrogen caused an increase in the catalytic activity, especially for the palladium catalyst. However, reduction of GO resulted in catalysts with higher activity and the highest catalytic activity was demonstrated by Pt/rGO, because platinum is the most catalytically active metal for ORR. The obtained results may be significant for low-temperature fuel cell technology, because they show that a simple modification of a carbon support may lead to a significant increase of the catalyst activity. This could be useful especially in lowering the cost of fuel cells, which is an important factor, because thousands of fuel cells running on hydrogen are already in use in commercial vehicles, forklifts, and backup power units worldwide. Another method used for lowering the price of current fuel cells can involve developing new clean and cheap production methods of the fuel, i.e. hydrogen. One of them employs catalytic processes, where carbon materials can be also used as a support and it is necessary to know how they can influence catalytic activity. L1 - http://www.journals.pan.pl/Content/113695/PDF/2_CPE_4_2019_INTERNET.pdf L2 - http://www.journals.pan.pl/Content/113695 PY - 2019 IS - No 4 EP - 361–376 DO - 10.24425/cpe.2019.130212 KW - low-temperature fuel cells KW - carbon nanomaterials KW - oxygen reduction reaction KW - DFAFC A1 - Bojarska, Zuzanna A1 - Mazurkiewicz-Pawlicka, Marta A1 - Makowski, Łukasz PB - Polish Academy of Sciences Committee of Chemical and Process Engineering VL - vol. 40 DA - 2019.12.30 T1 - Graphene oxide-based nano-materials as catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction SP - 361–376 UR - http://www.journals.pan.pl/dlibra/publication/edition/113695 T2 - Chemical and Process Engineering ER -