Abstract
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) based catalysts are emerging as highly promising enablers for high-performance and durable fuel cells. Our novel PtCo catalyst, supported by porous carbon derived from the pyrolysis of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8), dubbed PtCo/ZIF8, demonstrates superior performance and robustness during fuel cell operations. Tested under the Million Mile Fuel Cell Truck Consortium (M2FCT) conditions—250 kPa, 85% relative humidity, 90 °C cell temperature, and 15% oxygen—the PtCo/CZIF8 consistently outperformed commercial catalysts at critical operating voltages of 0.7 V and above. Notably, it achieved a current density of 1.43 A/cm2 at 0.7 V after enduring 90,000 accelerated stress test (AST) cycles, surpassing the M2FCT's end-of-life target of over 1.07 A/cm2. Furthermore, the catalyst showed a high mass activity of 0.87 A/mgPt initially, which only declined to 0.59 A/mgPt by the end-of-life test , indicating a 32% loss. In terms of electrochemical surface area (ECSA), the PtCo/CZIF8 maintained about 64% of its initial ECSA after the 90,000 AST cycles, well within the M2FCT’s protocol of less than 40% ECSA loss1. These results establish MOF-based catalysts as front-runners for fuel cell commercialization and are crucial for global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Acknowledgement:This research was supported by the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, US Department of Energy (DOE) through the Million Mile Fuel Cell Truck (M2FCT) consortium, technology managers G. Kleen and D. Papageorgopoulos.
Published Version
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