Perpustakaan Digital ITB

Due to the increasing demand for clean and sustainable energy, Zn-air batteries have great potential for future large-scale applications due to their safety, high energy density, and low cost. Somewhere along the line, related issues with electrocatalysts have hampered Znair battery development. An electrocatalyst is a crucial part of electrically rechargeable Zn-air batteries to improve the kinetics of ORR and OER. Presently Pt, Ir, and Ru are needed to act as electrocatalysts. But Pt, Ir, and Ru are pricy and still burdensome. In this research, activated carbon from mangosteen peel has been successfully synthesized and applied as a carbon-based bifunctional electrocatalyst in Zn-air batteries. The manufacture of carbon-based electrocatalysts begins with KOH activation followed by a pyrolysis process. The carbon-based electrocatalyst attained the onset potential of 0.85 V for ORR activity, the overpotential of 1.2 mA/cm-2 for OER activity, and 110 mW/cm-2 for peak power density stable 525 cycles for 175 hours in the practical Zn-air batteries application. The good result shows mangosteen peel-derived has the potential as a carbon-based electrocatalyst in rechargeable Zn-air batteries. Nevertheless, the development might be improved by adding some doping to enhance the performance.