(378m) Conversion from CO2-Containing Flue Gas to Electrocatalysts

Management of flue gas, which contains about 15% of CO₂ and an excess amount of N₂, is an important issue to diminish CO₂ in atmosphere. Herein, CO₂ contained in flue gas was directly converted into ‘boron and nitrogen co-doped porous carbon materials (FlueBNPC)’ at 500 ^oC and atmospheric pressure without any additional separation process. The synthesized FlueBNPC was applied as an electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in fuel cell cathode. Boron and nitrogen in the carbon network, which were doped simultaneously from reducing agent (NaBH₄) and flue gas, acted as active sites for electrochemical reaction. The synthesized Flue-BNPC showed better electrocatalytic activity toward ORR compared to pristine BPC which was converted from pure CO₂. This enhancement was due to the synergetic effect of B-N bonding combined with oxygen atoms in the carbon network, which was investigated not only by experimental characterization, but also by DFT calculations. The results demonstrate that flue gas itself can be an effective precursor for synthesis of carbon materials, insertion of B/N atoms into carbon lattices, and finally, production of efficient carbon-based electrocatalysts.