Development of effective bimetallic catalyst for high-temperature PEM fuel cell to improve CO tolerance

In this study, it is aimed to examine the effect of multi-walled carbon nanotube doped graphene nanoplatelet (MWCNT-GNP) supported PtPd bimetallic catalyst on the performance of the high-temperature proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC). In addition, PtPd/GNP and PtPd/MWCNT bimetallic catalysts were also investigated for performance comparison. The characterizations of these catalysts were examined by ICP-MS, XRD, HR-TEM, and TGA analysis. The electrochemical characterizations of the catalysts were performed for both cyclic voltammetry (CV) and CO stripping experiments, as well as HT-PEMFC tests. The specific surface area (SSA) for PtPd/GNP and PtPd/MWCNT catalysts was obtained as 148 and 137 m(2)/g, respectively, while the highest SSA was achieved as 164 m(2)/g for PtPd/MWCNT-GNP. The performance of the catalysts was confirmed with the HT-PEMFC tests, based on the H-2/air and reformate gas/air experiments. The electrocatalytic results display that PdPt bimetallic catalysts exhibited higher catalytic property than that of commercial Pt/C catalyst. The highest performance was achieved with PtPd/MWCNT-GNP catalyst as 0.390 and 0.310 W/cm(2)at 160 degrees C for H-2/air and reformat/air, respectively. The obtained results indicate that the PtPd/MWCNT-GNP catalyst is appropriate for HT-PEMFC operations.