AL-AIR BATTERY ELECTROCATALYST FROM PEANUT-DERIVED ACTIVE CARBON WITH KOH TREATMENT AND MNO2 CHEMICAL DEPOSITION.

• Main Author: Oswald, Raphael
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/46821
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

The human population, now exceeding 7 milliard, is beginning to cause problems. Energy derived from non-renewable sources are starting to run out. Because of that, humanity needs to research means of extracting energy from renewable sources. A possible source for this are biomasses, specifically carbon electrocatalysts which can be used to replace platina to accelerate the reaction rates of metal-air batteries. The Al-air batteries used in this experiment have a high theoretical energy density value of 8,100 Wh/kg, but platinum is still used as a catalyst, thus raising manufacturing costs. This research is aimed at exploring the possibility to replace the platinum catalysts with peanut-derived active carbon, modified with KOH and doped with MnO2 by means of chemical deposition. The research conducted encompasses Galvanodynamic testing, capacity through Full Discharge testing, and SEM and XRD characterizations. The results show that both the KOH and MnO2 modifications can drive up the catalytic activity with a capacity of 19.368 and 17.954 mAh/g each and a voltage of 1.647 and 1.561 V, but the excess of MnO2 within the carbon matrix has had a negative overall effect to the battery. Further research is needed to find the optimal amount of catalyst to improve catalytic activity.