Issue 6, 2024

Highly dispersed ultrafine PtCo alloy nanoparticles on unique composite carbon supports for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Abstract

The design of highly efficient and robust platinum-based electrocatalysts is pivotal for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). One of the long-standing issues for PEMFC is the rapid deactivation of the catalyst under working conditions. Here, we report a simple synthesis strategy for ultrafine PtCo alloy nanoparticles loaded on a unique carbon support derived from a zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67) and Ketjen Black (KB) composite, exhibiting a remarkable catalytic performance toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and PEMFC. Benefitting from the N-doping and wide pore size distribution of the composite carbon supports, the growth of PtCo nanoparticles can be evenly restricted, leading to a uniform distribution. The Pt-integrated catalyst delivers an outstanding electrochemical performance with a mass activity that is 8.6 times higher than that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst. Impressively, the accelerated durability test (ADT) demonstrates that the hybrid carbon support can significantly enhance the durability. Theoretical simulations highlight the synergistic contribution between the supports and the PtCo nanoparticles. Moreover, hydrogen–oxygen fuel cells assembled with the catalyst exhibited a high power density of 1.83 W cm−2 at 4 A cm−2. These results provide a new opportunity to design advanced catalysts for PEMFC.

Graphical abstract: Highly dispersed ultrafine PtCo alloy nanoparticles on unique composite carbon supports for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
26 Oct 2023
Accepted
11 Jan 2024
First published
15 Jan 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Nanoscale, 2024,16, 2868-2876

Highly dispersed ultrafine PtCo alloy nanoparticles on unique composite carbon supports for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

L. Zhang, T. Liu, X. Liu, S. Li, X. Zhang, Q. Luo, T. Ding, T. Yao and W. Zhang, Nanoscale, 2024, 16, 2868 DOI: 10.1039/D3NR05403A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements