Facile In Situ Synthesis of Amphiphilic Carbon-Supported Pt: Innovative Catalyst Preparation for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Abstract

Carbon materials are widely utilized to support platinum (Pt) catalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). However, carbon surfaces generally promote hydrophobicity, which limits the transport of active species and lowers the efficiency of PEMFCs. Consequently, functional groups should be introduced on the carbon surface to create transport channels. One promising strategy is to modify the amphiphilic functional group on a carbon surface. In this study, the liquid-phase plasma process was applied to realizing a facile one-step synthesis of amphiphilic functional group-modified carbon-supported platinum (Am@C/Pt) to serve as a catalyst. This novel synthesis strategy provides several advantages over conventional processes, such as reducing the number of steps and minimizing the chemical and energy consumptions. Experimental results revealed that the PEMFCs' efficiency with Am@ C/Pt is mainly controlled by the number of hydrophilic and hydrophobic characters on the carbon surface. A single PEMFC demonstrated a maximum current and power density of 2.41 A cm −2 and 1.68 W cm −2 , respectively, at 0.7 V, which was significantly higher than those of commercially available carbon-supported Pt catalysts. Furthermore, Am@C/Pt demonstrated superior durability after 5000 test cycles.

Plasma modified and tailored defective electrocatalysts for water electrolysis and hydrogen fuel cells

“…The high‐energy CN free radicals generated by the plasma lead to uniform doping of N on the open edge surfaces as shown in Figure 9C and account for the improved ORR activity, durability, and tolerance to the alkaline environment. In the study of Tipplook et al, liquid‐phase plasma processing is used to synthesize Pt/C decorated with amphiphilic functional groups in a single step for high‐efficiency ORR catalysis 174 . The decorated carbon and Pt nanoparticles are formed at the plasma‐liquid interface and plasma center, respectively, as shown in Figure 9D.…”

“…In the study of Tipplook et al, liquid-phase plasma processing is used to synthesize Pt/C decorated with amphiphilic functional groups in a single step for high-efficiency ORR catalysis. 174 The decorated carbon and Pt nanoparticles are formed at the plasma-liquid interface and plasma center, respectively, as shown in Figure 9D. In the study of Tao et al, the Ar plasma irradiation-derived active sites (defects such as edges, plane topological defect sites) are constructed on the surface of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite to break the intrinsic sp2-hybrid, localize surface charges on defective active sites, and enhance the intrinsic activity in ORR, OER, and HER.…”

Microwave-Assisted Scalable Synthesis of Pt/C: Impact of the Microwave Irradiation and Carrier Solution Polarity on Nanoparticle Formation and Aging of the Support Carbon

“…Enhancement of the performance of the Pt/C electrocatalysts through surface functionalization of the support carbon has been demonstrated frequently, ,− where the surface functionalization may be used to enhance the durability and/or wettability of the catalyst. Again, the structure of the carbon support surface may also affect the Pt–carbon interaction .…”