Graphene-Derived Carbon Support Boosts Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Catalyst Stability
Lack of efficient and durable PEM fuel cell electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is still restraining the present hydrogen technology. Graphene-based carbon materials have emerged as a potential solution to replace the existing carbon black (CB) supports, however, their potential was never fully exploited as a commercial solution due to their more demanding properties. Here, a unique and industrially scalable synthesis of platinum-based electrocatalysts on graphene derivative (GD) supports is presented. With an innovative approach a highly homogeneous as well as a high metal loaded platinum-alloy (up to 60 wt.%) intermetallic catalysts on GDs are achieved.
Accelerated degradation tests (ADTs) show enhanced durability when compared to the CB supported analogues including the commercial benchmark. Advanced gas diffusion electrode (GDE) results show that the GD supported catalysts exhibit excellent mass activities and possess the properties necessary to reach high currents if utilized correctly. We show record-high peak power densities in comparison to the prior best literature on platinum-based GD supported materials which is a promising information for future application.
For financing the research, the authors acknowledge the support by Slovenian research agency (ARRS), European Research Council (ERC) as well as NATO Science for Peace and Security Program. Authors also acknowledge the financial support by NIC within the project NICKI.
Link: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acscatal.2c01753
Contact: luka.pavko(at)ki.si, matija.gatalo(at)ki.si, miran.gaberšček(at)ki.si