TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparative study of PtNi nanowire array electrodes toward oxygen reduction reaction by half-cell measurement and PEMFC test
AU - Mardle, Peter
AU - Thirunavukkarasu, Gnanavel
AU - Guan, Shaoliang
AU - Chiu, Yu-Lung
AU - Du, Shangfeng
PY - 2020/9/23
Y1 - 2020/9/23
N2 - A clear understanding of catalytic activity enhancement mechanisms in fuel cell operation is necessary for a full degree translation of the latest generation of non-Pt/C fuel cell electrocatalysts into high-performance electrodes in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). In this work, PtNi nanowire (NW) array gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) are fabricated from Pt NW arrays with Ni impregnation. A 2.84-fold improvement in the oxygen reduction reaction catalytic activity is observed for the PtNi NW array GDE (cf. the Pt NW array GDE) using half-cell GDE measurement in a 0.1 M HClO4 aqueous electrolyte at 25 °C, in comparison to only a 1.07-fold power density recorded in the PEMFC single-cell test. An ionomer is shown to significantly increase the electrochemically active surface area of the GDEs, but the PtNi NW array GDE suffers from Ni ion contamination at a high temperature, contributing to decreased catalytic activities and limited improvement in operating PEMFCs.
AB - A clear understanding of catalytic activity enhancement mechanisms in fuel cell operation is necessary for a full degree translation of the latest generation of non-Pt/C fuel cell electrocatalysts into high-performance electrodes in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). In this work, PtNi nanowire (NW) array gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) are fabricated from Pt NW arrays with Ni impregnation. A 2.84-fold improvement in the oxygen reduction reaction catalytic activity is observed for the PtNi NW array GDE (cf. the Pt NW array GDE) using half-cell GDE measurement in a 0.1 M HClO4 aqueous electrolyte at 25 °C, in comparison to only a 1.07-fold power density recorded in the PEMFC single-cell test. An ionomer is shown to significantly increase the electrochemically active surface area of the GDEs, but the PtNi NW array GDE suffers from Ni ion contamination at a high temperature, contributing to decreased catalytic activities and limited improvement in operating PEMFCs.
KW - Electrode
KW - Gas diffusion electrode (GDE)
KW - Half-cell measurement
KW - Interface
KW - Ionomer
KW - Nanowire
KW - PtNi
KW - proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85091588191&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acsami.0c11531
DO - 10.1021/acsami.0c11531
M3 - Article
SN - 1944-8244
VL - 12
SP - 42832
EP - 42841
JO - ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
JF - ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
IS - 38
ER -