Enhanced Pt/C and PtCu/C electrocatalysts for improved oxygen reduction reaction in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells

The conversion of fuel chemical energy into electricity in fuel cells is hindered by the slow kinetics of the cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the high cost of platinum-containing Pt/C catalysts. Thus, projects to produce advanced materials for efficient ORR flow and reduction of a platinum loading in the catalytic layer are still relevant. The current interdisciplinary research combines such fields as electrocatalysis, materials science, and nanotechnology. We have studied stability and ORR mass activity of the Pt/C and PtCu/C catalysts depending on their microstructure and established the impact of individual Pt NPs at the support on functional characteristics of those electrocatalysts. The catalysts exhibiting outstanding activity have been obtained by various wet-synthesis methods, as well as using an N-doped carbon support. The Pt/C catalysts synthesized are characterized by a high uniformity of the NPs spatial distribution over the carbon support. The platinum and platinum - copper catalysts on an N-doped carbon support have demonstrated extremely high catalytic activity due to the synergistic effect of alloying of platinum with d-metal and the modified electronic structure of the support. The values of ORR mass activity of about 400 A/g(Pt) for Pt/C and more than 1,300 A/g(Pt) for PtCu/C have thus been achieved.