Suppression of CO Adsorption on PtRu/C Catalysts Modified with Metallic Ruthenium Nanosheets

Abstract

PtRu/C catalyst were modified with one-atom-thick metallic Ru nanosheets, and the electrocatalytic activity as well as long term durability were studied for use as an anode catalyst in polymer electrolyte fuel cells. Metallic Ru nanosheet-PtRu/C composite catalysts were obtained by hydrogen reduction of RuO 2.1 nanosheet-modified PtRu/C. The hydrogen oxidation reaction activity in 300 ppm CO/H 2 saturated 0.1 M HClO 4 at 20 mV vs. RHE increased from 89 A (g-PtRu) −1 for PtRu/C to 124 A (g-PtRu) −1 for metallic Ru nanosheet modified PtRu/C catalyst. After the accelerated durability test, the hydrogen oxidation reaction activity for the modified catalyst was 1.8 times higher than that of PtRu/C. The results suggest that the CO tolerance and durability of PtRu/C can be easily improved by adding metallic Ru nanosheets.