Kesha Tamakuwala

All Publications

• Understanding hydrazine oxidation electrocatalysis on undoped carbon PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS Burshtein, T. Y., Tamakuwala, K., Sananis, M., Grinberg, I., Samala, N., Eisenberg, D. 2022

  Abstract

  Carbons are ubiquitous electrocatalytic supports for various energy-related transformations, especially in fuel cells. Doped carbons such as Fe-N-C materials are particularly active towards the oxidation of hydrazine, an alternative fuel and hydrogen carrier. However, there is little discussion of the electrocatalytic role of the most abundant component - the carbon matrix - towards the hydrazine oxidation reaction (HzOR). We present a systematic investigation of undoped graphitic carbons towards the HzOR in alkaline electrolyte. Using highly oriented pyrolytic graphite electrodes, as well as graphite powders enriched in either basal planes or edge defects, we demonstrate that edge defects are the most active catalytic sites during hydrazine oxidation electrocatalysis. Theoretical DFT calculations support and explain the mechanism of HzOR on carbon edges, identifying unsaturated graphene armchair defects as the most likely active sites. Finally, these findings explain the 'double peak' voltammetric feature observed on many doped carbons during the HzOR.

  View details for DOI 10.1039/d2cp00213b

  View details for Web of Science ID 000782256900001

  View details for PubMedID 35416204