Pt nanowire growth induced by Pt nanoparticles in application of the cathodes for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs)

Sui, Sheng; Wei, Zhaoxu; Su, Kaihua; He, An; Wang, Xiaoying; Su, Yuehong; Hou, Xianghui; Raffet, Saffa; Du, Shangfeng

Abstract

Improving cathode performance at a lower Pt loading is critical in commercial PEMFC applications. A novel Pt nanowire (Pt-NW) cathode was developed by in-situ growth of Pt nanowires in carbon matrix consisting Pt nanoparticles (Pt-NPs). Characterization of TEM and XRD shows that the pre-existing Pt-NPs from Pt/C affect Pt-NW morphology and crystallinity and Pt profile crossing the matrix thickness. The cathode with Pt-NP loading of 0.005 mgPt-NP cm−2 and total cathode Pt loading of 0.205 mgPt cm−2 has the specific current density of 89.56 A gPt−1 at 0.9 V, which is about 110% higher than that of 42.58 A gPt−1 of the commercial gas diffusion layer (GDE) with Pt loading of 0.40 mg cm−2. When cell voltage is below 0.48 V, the Pt-NW cathode has better performance than the commercial GDE. It is believed that the excellent performance of the Pt-NW cathode is attributed to Pt-NP induction, therefore producing unique Pt-NW structure and efficient Pt utilization. A Pt-NW growth mechanism was proposed that Pt precursor diffuses into the matrix consisting of pre-existent Pt-NPs by concentration driving, and Pt-NPs provide priority sites for platinum depositing at early stage and facilitate Pt-NW growth.

Citation

Sui, S., Wei, Z., Su, K., He, A., Wang, X., Su, Y., Hou, X., Raffet, S., & Du, S. (2018). Pt nanowire growth induced by Pt nanoparticles in application of the cathodes for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs). International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 43(43), 20041-20049. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2018.09.009

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 3, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Sep 28, 2018
• Publication Date: Oct 25, 2018
• Deposit Date: Oct 29, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 29, 2019
• Journal: International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
• Print ISSN: 0360-3199
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 43
• Issue: 43
• Pages: 20041-20049
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2018.09.009
• Keywords: Fuel Technology; Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment; Energy Engineering and Power Technology; Condensed Matter Physics
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1203326
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360319918328234
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Pt nanowire growth induced by Pt nanoparticles in application of the cathodes for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs); Journal Title: International Journal of Hydrogen Energy; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2018.09.009; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2018 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
• Contract Date: Oct 29, 2018