Substrate Effect of Platinum-Decorated Carbon on Enhanced Hydrogen Oxidation in PEMFC

Abstract

Environmentally sustainable fuel cells with high efficiency have attracted much attention as a promising approach to resolving future energy problems. However, some obstacles must be overcome, such as corrosion, water control, and long-term degradation. Herein, we investigated the improved electrochemical performance and hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) mechanism of platinum loaded on carbon nanotube (Pt/CNT) catalyst by conducting experimental and theoretical studies. The Pt/CNT catalyst had a larger active area than the Pt/C (platinum loaded on carbon black) catalyst and also exhibited improved performance due to its long-term stability. In addition, the charge-transfer resistance of Pt/CNT (61.2 Ω cm 2 ) is much smaller than that of Pt/C (90.2 Ω cm 2 ), indicating that the CNT support offers good electron transfer. To further understand the hydrogen dissociation mechanisms of Pt/CNT and Pt/C, we investigated the adsorption characteristics and electron transfer of the catalysts with optimized geometry using the density functional theory (DFT). Pt/CNT exhibited higher adsorption energy and electron transfer than Pt/C, which leads to improved HOR. The integrated experimental and theoretical study conducted here suggests that Pt/CNT is a promising candidate for maintaining the performance of cathode catalysts in the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell.

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

“…Likewise, the Pt/CNT catalyst had a larger active area than the carbon black supported Pt (Pt/C) catalyst and exhibited improved performance due to its long-term stability. The improved electrochemical performance and hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) mechanism of platinum loaded on a carbon nanotube (Pt/CNT) catalyst are reported, theoretical and experimentally supporting the research on the substrate effect of platinum-decorated carbon on enhanced hydrogen oxidation in PEMFC [ 289 ]. The charge–transfer resistance of Pt/CNT (61.2 Ω cm2) is much smaller than that of Pt/C (90.2 Ω cm2), indicating that the CNT support offers good electron transfer ( Figure 22 ).…”

Carbon Nanotube-Supported Bimetallic Core–Shell (M@Pd/CNT (M: Zn, Mn, Ag, Co, V, Ni)) Cathode Catalysts for H2O2 Fuel Cells

“…As noble metals employed in catalyst synthesis are expensive, support materials are used to moderate the cost. Catalysts are dispersed over the support materials rather than being used as one piece, reducing the load of the catalyst used and increasing the catalyst surface area . Besides that, the support materials used together with the catalyst can enhance the catalytic activity .…”

Conformational effect of Pt2Ru3 nanoparticle on surface coverage of CO/H2 by materials informatics-integrated computational method

“…Polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) have been a promising device due to their high-power density and low operating temperature around 350 K. Pt and Pt-based materials have been known as a representative metal catalyst for an anode material when H 2 is used as the fuel. [1,2] One of the most fatal and ongoing problems is CO poisoning on the Pt surface: H 2 adsorption is considerably inhibited in the presence of CO, which is contained as an impurity in the H 2 fuel. [3,4] Because the H 2 gas is generally produced from hydrocarbons and alcohols, complete removal of CO at ppm level has extremely been difficult, [5] while it has been reported that even 10 ppm or less of CO is harmful to the cell performance.…”