Properties of Pt/C nanoparticle catalysts synthesized by electroless deposition for proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Abstract

Carbon-supported Pt catalysts in nano-size for proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) were synthesized by electroless deposition method with and without using ethylene glycol (EG) and NaBH4 as reductant. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) methods were used to determine the content, size and the distribution of Pt particles on carbon Vulcan XC-72. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements were used to evaluate the activity and durability of catalyst. A comparison of physical and electrochemical characterizations was carried out on three types of catalysts: Pt catalyst of 20 wt% on Vulcan XC-72 prepared by electroless deposition method with and without EG and commercial catalyst purchased from Fuel Cell Earth LLC (USA). The results showed that with the presence of EG, the size of synthesized Pt particles was around 2-3 nm, in comparison with 4-16 nm in the case without EG and 3-4 nm of commercial catalyst. The CV results expressedj that catalysts prepared with EG have the highest activity and durability. © 2013 Vietnam Academy of Science & Technology.