Performance- and Durability-Enhanced Carbon-Skeleton Nanofiber Electrode with Pt₃Co/C for PEMFCs

Abstract

To enhance the performance and durability of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), we looked beyond the polymer-skeleton electrospinning electrode and developed a novel carbon-skeleton nanofiber electrode (the C-spun electrode) by a facile heat-treatment process. After thermal annealing at 600 °C, part of the disordered Pt3Co nanoparticles converted into an ordered intermetallic phase, with an apparently improved oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity (E 1/2 increased by 50 mV). Meanwhile, the polymers in the polymer-skeleton nanofibers were carbonized and transformed into carbon skeletons, which exhibited excellent corrosion resistance during extensive carbon corrosion testings (1.0–1.5 V, 0.5 V s–1, 1600 rpm, 30 000 cycles). In unit-cell tests, the C-spun electrode achieved an excellent performance of 8.207 W mgPt –1 (H2/air, 80 °C, 1 bar, 100% RH), which is higher than that of the previously reported electrodes with commercial Pt3Co/C. After 50 000 potential scanning cycles, a negligible performance loss was observed. The C-spun electrode provides a new direction for the next-generation electrodes of PEMFCs.

Tailoring the Surface Properties of Micro/Nanofibers Using 0D, 1D, 2D, and 3D Nanostructures: A Review on Post‐Modification Methods

“…Gao and co‐workers used thermal treatment to develop a novel carbon‐skeleton nanofiber electrode. [ 130 ] After the thermal treatment at 600 °C, the polymeric nanofiber was carbonized and turned into a carbon skeleton and the disordered Pt 3 Co nanoparticles at fiber surface were converted into an ordered intermetallic phase resulting in a composite nanofiber with a modified surface. Additionally, considering a specific nanofiber composition, slight temperature changes can also influence structural order and morphological characteristics, reflecting on electrical and optical properties.…”

Intermetallic PdZn nanoparticles loaded on deficient TiO2 nanosheets as a support: a bifunctional electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction in PEMFCs and the glycerol oxidation reactions

“…Both polarization curves scarcely changed, which is superior to the previous ORR electrocatalysts such as PtPd/TiO 2 , CNT-Pt/TiO 2 , PdCo/gCN, RuTe 2 /C and Pt 3 Co/C catalysts. [41][42][43][44][45][46][47] Furthermore, Fig. 4d shows the stability of the MEA with the PdZn/TiO 2Àx NS cathode was maintained over 100 h at a constant voltage of 0.45 V even at 80 C. The durability tests of the fuel cell at 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 A cm À2 for about 2-4 h were performed.…”

Enhanced PEMFC performance through high O2 permeation and proton conductive electrospun nanofiber electrodes with unique ionomer construction

“…The advantage of the gas transport of nanober structures by comparing R CL is in accordance with other reports, where they claimed the well-constructed proton transport networks and the inter-ber and intra-ber porosity are the key factors for the outstanding mass transport properties. [31][32][33] However, there is no direct evidence to quantitively conrm how each of the above factors benets mass transport. In this study, the resistance of Knudsen diffusion in CL, R CL,gas and that of O 2 permeation through the ionomer lm, R CL,ion were further separated from R CL using eqn (3), ( 8) and ( 9), as shown in Fig.…”