Enhanced life of proton exchange membrane fuel cell catalysts using perfluorosulfonic acid stabilized carbon support

• DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2010.11.075
• Publication Date: 2010-11-30T10:38:16Z
• Authors: Niancai Cheng; Shichun Mu; Xiaojing Chen; Haifeng Lv; Mu Pan; Peter P. Edwards
• Keywords: 02 engineering and technology; 0210 nano-technology; 7. Clean energy

We report a new and simple solution to increase life of Pt/C catalysts using the proton-conducting polymer (perfluorosulfonic acid, PFSA) stabilized carbon support (denoted these catalysts as Pt/NFC catalysts) as compared to conventional Pt/C catalysts commonly used in PEM fuel cells. A high catalytic activity of the catalyst is observed by both CV (cyclic voltammetry) and ORR (oxygen reduction reaction) measurements. Especially, our own catalysts have a 60% better life as compared to Pt/C under electrochemically accelerated durability test conditions. The loss rate of electrochemical active area (ECA) for Pt/NFC catalysts is only 0.007 m2 g−1 cycle−1, compared to a value of 0.011 m2 g−1 cycle−1 for Pt/C.