Abstract
Abstract:
Carbon supported platinum nanowires (PtNW/C) synthesized by a simple and inexpensive template-free methodology has been used for the first time as a cathode catalyst in a 15 cell with an active area of 250 cm2, 1.5 kW proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack. Drive cycle testing along with in-situ and ex-situ accelerated degradation testing (ADT) showed that the PtNW/C catalyst exhibited better durability than commercial Pt/C. After a 420 h dynamic drive cycle durability testing, the PEMFC stacks exhibited a performance degradation rate of 14.4% and 17.9% for PtNW/C and commercial Pt/C based cathodes, respectively. It was found that the majority of performance loss was due to degradation of the commercial Pt/C anode materials, resulting from the rapidly changing load frequencies used in the testing protocol, ultimately leading to harsh fuel/air starvation conditions and subsequent Pt nanoparticle growth and agglomeration. Notably, based on post-testing characterization, the structure, electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) and oxygen reduction activity of the PtNW/C cathode catalyst remained unchanged during the drive cycling, indicating its excellent stability under these practical conditions. Conversely, when using commercial Pt/C as a cathode catalyst, significant Pt nanoparticle growth and agglomeration were observed, resulting in the reduced PEMFC stack durability. Therefore, PtNW/C materials are presented as promising replacements to conventional Pt/C as cathode electrocatalysts for PEMFCs, and particularly demonstrate improved stability under the practical conditions encountered for automotive applications.
Notes:
General chemistry and physical chemistry
Details
Format:
Academic Journal
Database:
PASCAL Archive
Journal:
Applied catalysis. B, Environmental
Volume:
162
Page Start:
133
Page Count:
8
ISSN:
09263373
Publisher:
Kidlington: Elsevier, 2015.
Document Type:
Article
Physical Description:
print, 27 ref
