Stable and high-performance N-micro/mesoporous carbon-supported Pt/Co nanoparticles-GDE for electrocatalytic oxygen reduction in PEMFC

Abstract

The current research presented a novel type of stable and high-performance electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). For this purpose, N-micro/mesoporous carbon-supported Pt/Co nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized through a two-step procedure. The Co–N-micro/mesoporous carbon support was first prepared by the direct carbonization of zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67). Next, the N-micro/mesoporous carbon-supported Pt/Co NPs were synthesized by galvanic replacement of Pt (IV) ions with Co nanoparticles. The surface properties and chemical structure of the prepared electrocatalyst were measured by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption-desorption, energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) techniques. The results confirmed the desirable properties of the prepared electrocatalyst which enhanced the ORR kinetic. The ORR performance of the prepared electrocatalyst was examined utilizing the catalyst coated membrane electrode (CCME) in the homemade half-cell. The ORR performance of N-micro/mesoporous carbon-supported Pt/Co NPs loaded on the gas diffusion electrode (Pt/Co-NC-GDE) was evaluated in an acidic solution. The electrochemical tests exhibited the superior current density and power density of the Pt/Co-NC-GDE (−58.7 mAcm−2 at 0.3 V/RHE and 17.6 mW cm−2) compared to those of Pt/C-GDE (−43.7 mAcm−2, and 13.1 mW cm−2). Furthermore, durability tests indicated the higher stability of Pt/Co-NC-GDE than Pt/C-GDE.