Assessing the Potential of Co-Pt Bronze for Electrocatalysis in Acidic Media

Abstract

An electron-conducting mixed oxide, Co-Pt bronze was synthesized and examined as a candidate for a highly durable electrocatalyst for both the polymer electrolyte fuel cells and electrolyzers. The motivation of this study comes from the fact that this material has not been studied as an electrocatalyst in acidic media, although past studies showed a high electronic conductivity and a high corrosion resistance. Co-Pt bronze without metallic Pt was obtained by solid-state synthesis and hot aqua regia rinsing. The OER activity was found to be among the highest as a material without Ir and Ru in acidic media, and it showed extremely high electrochemical stability in the OER potential range. Its oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was obtained after potential cycles down to the hydrogen region, which formed a thin Pt metallic layer over the oxide. While its specific activity was not more than that of pure platinum nanoparticles, its durability against the potential cycles was much higher.

Catalysts for Polymer Membrane Fuel Cells

“…A common approach to reducing the cost of polymer electrolyte systems is to reduce the Pt loading in the system, which can be done through either a change in catalyst or a change in architecture. On the catalyst side, Co-Pt bronzes were shown to have very good activity and stability whilst significantly reducing the amount of Pt in the catalyst layer [1]. Related to the electrode architecture, two papers explored fundamentally different methods for manipulating the pore structure of the support.…”

Synthesis of a Mesoporous SnO2 Catalyst Support and the Effect of Its Pore Size on the Performance of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

“…The concentrations of the doped elements in the CMMTOs and the Pt loadings of the Pt/CMSbTOs were determined by using ICP-OES (PS3520UVDD II, Hitachi High-Tech). The electrical conductivities of the CMMTOs were measured using a compression cell 61 and potentiostat (SP-300, Biologic) at a compression pressure of 2.4 MPa.…”

Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Acidic Media

“…[41] Indeed, the Co-Pt bronze with Pt in oxidized state exhibited enhanced acidic OER activity compared to the metallic Pt. [274] Guo et al reported Rh-Ir alloy nanoparticles as efficient acidic OER catalyst. By optimizing the Ir content, a maximum mass activity with threefold enhancement relative to pure Ir nanoparticles was achieved.…”

“…[ 41 ] Indeed, the Co–Pt bronze with Pt in oxidized state exhibited enhanced acidic OER activity compared to the metallic Pt. [ 274 ] Guo et al. reported Rh–Ir alloy nanoparticles as efficient acidic OER catalyst.…”