Bimetallic ZIF-Based PtCuCo/NC Electrocatalyst Pt Supported with an N-Doped Porous Carbon for Oxygen Reduction Reaction in PEM Fuel Cells

Abstract

The research and synthesis of low-loading Pt-based catalysts with excellent catalytic performance and high stability are critical in achieving the commercial application of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. In this study, the Cu element is incorporated into a Co-based zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) structure, and an N-doped low Pt-loading PtCuCo/NC alloy catalyst is synthesized using the impregnation reduction method with bimetallic CuCo-ZIF as a carrier. Incorporating a second metal Cu to Co-ZIF forms more metal-N bonds, increasing the N-doping content, and resulting in more structural defects. Meanwhile, the porous structure of ZIF can better disperse Pt/Pt alloy particles, which allows the generation and exposure of more oxygen reduction reaction active sites. PtCuCo/NC exhibits good catalytic activity (0.907 V) in electrochemical tests, with a high half-wave potential after 10,000 cycles and superior performance in single-cell tests. This study provides an idea for improving the performance of Pt-based fuel cell catalysts.