Size and shape controlled Pt-M (M= Ni, Co, Cu) alloy nanoparticles for fuel cell catalysts

Abstract

Increasing the kinetics of oxygen reduction and small organic oxidation on Pt catalysts is a key challenge in fuel cell development. An effective way to tackle this problem is to use Pt-based alloy nanoparticles. In this presentation, electrocatalytic activity studies of various Pt-M alloy nanoparticles with size and shape controlled will be discussed. These particles, including PtNi, PtCo and PtCu, were synthesized by wet-chemical approaches. Results from structural characterization will be shown. The electrocatalytic activity studies reveal that the PtNi particles are very active for oxygen reduction, exhibiting more than 20 fold specific activity and mass activity improvement as compared with the commercial Pt/C catalysts. The PtCo and PtCu particles exhibit enhanced methanol oxidation activity as compared to Pt/C catalysis. In addition, PtCu particles also exhibit significant increase in formic acid oxidation kinetics. Possible mechanisms of the activity improvement will be discussed in the presentation.