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., …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.