In-situ flame deposition of Pt catalysts on Nb-doped SnO2 nanoparticles

Abstract

Metal oxide supports have attracted much attention for improving the performance and durability of polymer electrolyte fuel cells. In this study, niobium-doped tin oxide (NTO) nanoparticles with a network structure were synthesized and Pt catalysts deposited on them using a flame aerosol technology. Because the flame method involves a variety of particle formation processes, which depend on the type of raw material and combustion method used, the effect of these processes on the particle structure of the flame-made Pt/NTO was evaluated. When Pt/NTO nanoparticles were prepared by flame-assisted spray pyrolysis (FASP) using an inorganic raw material (metal chloride) with lower combustion enthalpy, the precursor liquid burned incompletely and Pt aggregation was observed. However, when flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) using a combustible precursor solution was used, the precursor rapidly evaporated in spray flames, and NTO with uniformly dispersed Pt was synthesized through gas-to-particle conversion. The electrochemical surface area and mass activity values of 5.44 wt% Pt-loaded NTO particles prepared by FSP were 48.2 m2 g−1 Pt and 338 mA mg−1 Pt, respectively. Flame aerosol synthesis of supported metal catalysts can be widely used as a dry one-step process that does not involve any complicated post-treatment. The two types of noble metal loading processes revealed in this study provide important insights for determining particle design guidelines for in-situ production of supported metal catalysts in flames.