Enhanced durability of a Pt/C electrocatalyst derived from Nafion-stabilised colloidal platinum nanoparticles

Oliver Curnick, Paula Mendes, Bruno Pollet

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

31 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A Pt/C electrocatalyst was prepared from colloidal Pt nanoparticles stabilised by Nafion. This electrocatalyst was found to exhibit negligible degradation under a potential cycling regime conducted on a model thin-film catalyst layer in a 3-electrode cell set-up, in which an E-Tek Pt/C commercial catalyst showed a 23% loss of specific electrochemical surface area (SECSA). The enhanced durability of the Nafion-derived is thought to arise from the protection of Pt particles against dissolution and sintering by the surrounding Nafion layer. The use of the ionomer phase as a protective agent in the catalyst layer presents a novel strategy for the production of more durable Pt/C catalysts for the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC), which currently presents a significant challenge for the commercialisation of this technology. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1017-1020
Number of pages4
JournalElectrochemistry Communications
Volume12
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Aug 2010

Keywords

  • Durability
  • Nafion
  • Pt/C
  • PEMFC
  • Platinum
  • Fuel cell
  • Electrocatalyst

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