Efficient synthesis of Pt–Co nanowires as cathode catalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Abstract

A simple and efficient method was used to prepare highly active and durable carbon-supported ultrathin Pt-Co nanowires (NWs) as oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts for the cathode in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Chromium hexacarbonyl plays a significant role in making Pt and Co form an alloyed NW, which acts as both a reducing agent and a structure directing agent. The nanocrystal exhibits a uniform nanowire morphology with a diameter of 2 nm and a length of 30 nm. In half cell tests, the Pt-Co NWs/C catalyst has a mass activity of 291.4 mA mg Pt À1 , which is significantly better than commercial Pt/C catalysts with 85.5 mA mg Pt À1. And after the accelerated durability test (ADT), Pt-Co NWs/C shows an electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) loss of 19.1% while the loss in the commercial catalyst is 41.8%. Also, the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) was prepared using Pt-Co NWs/C as the cathode catalyst, resulting in a maximum power density of 952 mW cm À2 , which is higher than that of Pt/C. These results indicate that the one-dimensional structure of the catalyst prepared herein is favorable to improve the activity and durability, and the application of the catalyst in the MEA is also realized.

How to appropriately assess the oxygen reduction reaction activity of platinum group metal catalysts with rotating disk electrode

“…Therefore, we strongly recommend that: (1). RHE with the same electrolyte as bulk solution, whereby E j will not exist and there is no need to consider the activity coefficient of H + , should be used as RE directly for ORR or other electro-catalyzes ( Gong et al., 2019 ; Kong et al., 2020 ; Liu et al., 2020b ); or (2). Calibrate other REs with RHEs in the test electrolytes just before the tests are performed ( Tian et al., 2019 ; Wang et al., 2018 ).…”

Unveiling the Roles of Lattice Strain and Descriptor Species on Pt-Like Oxygen Reduction Activity in Pd–Bi Catalysts

“…Even though the current density of the MEA fabricated with our developed catalyst is slightly lower than that of Pt/C, the obtained power density is quite significant in terms of other reported Pt-based cathodes for PEMFC (Table S10). ,− …”

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs): Advances and Challenges

“…Besides, challenges and future prospects for the manufacturing of nanocatalyst technologies are analyzed in detail on this paper. In this direction, efficient synthetic methodology of Pt-Co nanowires as cathode catalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells have been fabricated and characterized [ 221 ], using a hexacarbonyl precursor to form nanowires that act as a reducing agent and as a structure-directing agent. Electrochemical performance in a half-cell test attained a mass activity of 291.4 mA mgPt −1 , which is significantly better than the commercial carbon-supported Pt catalyst with 85.5 mA mgPt −1 , where, after the accelerated durability test (ADT), the carbon-supported nano-alloyed catalyst showed an electrochemical active surface area (ECSA) loss of 19.1%, while the loss in the commercial catalyst was 41.8%.…”