Enhanced stability of Pt electrocatalysts by nitrogen doping in CNTs for PEM fuel cells

Abstract

Electrochemical stabilities of Pt deposited on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (CN x ) of different nitrogen contents are compared with accelerated durability tests (ADT) for the first time. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images reveal the different structures of CNTs and CN x , and the decrease of Pt particle size with the nitrogen incorporation into CNTs. Based on the loss of electrochemical surface area (ESA) and TEM images, Pt/CN x exhibited much higher stability than Pt/CNTs, and the Pt stability increases with the increase of nitrogen contents in the CN x supports.