Abstract
Commercialization of the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) requires that electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) satisfy two main considerations: materials must be highly active and show long-term stability in acid medium. Here, we describe the synthesis, physical characterization, and electrochemical evaluation of carbon-dispersed Pt2NiCo nanocatalysts for ORR in acid medium. We synthesized a trimetallic electrocatalyst via chemical route in organic medium and investigated the physical properties of the Pt2NiCo/C nanocatalyst by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy-scanning electron microscope (EDXS-SEM), and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), whereas the catalytic activities of the Pt2NiCo/C and Pt/C nanocatalysts were determined through cyclic voltammetry (CV), CO-stripping, and rotating disk electrode (RDE) electrochemical techniques. XRD and EDXS-SEM results confirmed the presence of the three metals in the nanoparticles, and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) allowed observation of the Pt2NiCo nanoparticles at ~10 nm. The measured specific activity for the synthesized nanocatalyst is ~6.4-fold higher than that of Pt/C alone, and its mass activity is ~2.2-fold higher than that of Pt/C, which is attributed to the synergistic interaction of the trimetallic electrocatalyst. Furthermore, the specific and mass activities of the synthesized material are maintained after the accelerated stability test, whereas the catalytic properties of Pt/C decreased. These results suggest that the Pt2NiCo/C trimetallic nanocatalyst is a promising candidate cathode electrode for use in PEMFCs.
Highlights
IntroductionThe H2 -based polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (H2 -PEMFC) has increased in importance because of its high energy conversion efficiency and low emission of pollutants into the atmosphere
The H2 -based polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (H2 -PEMFC) has increased in importance because of its high energy conversion efficiency and low emission of pollutants into the atmosphere.H2 -PEMFCs can be designed according to diverse applications, including stationary, Catalysts 2020, 10, 170; doi:10.3390/catal10020170 www.mdpi.com/journal/catalystsCatalysts 2020, 10, 170 portable, and automotive systems [1,2,3]
As2020, previously the synthesized Pt2 NiCo/C catalyst can be considered a better candidate for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) than the commercial Pt/C in acid medium; to better understand the electrocatalytic electrocatalytic performance, we developed stability tests
Summary
The H2 -based polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (H2 -PEMFC) has increased in importance because of its high energy conversion efficiency and low emission of pollutants into the atmosphere. Noble-metal-based electrocatalysts and their alloys with low Pt content have been demonstrated to be an efficient and robust approach to address specific problems either in catalytic activity/selectivity or durability for the ORR, through understanding of the relationship between the electronic structure and catalytic activity of the catalyst [7,8] For this reason, Pt-based bimetallic systems studied by different groups show that modifying size, morphology, and composition can promote superior activities and stabilities by the synthesized catalysts relative to those by commercially available Pt/C nanoparticles [9,10,11,12]. Catalysts 2020, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW trimetallic nanoparticles with enhanced electrocatalytic activity and stability for the ORR
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