Radiolytic preparation of electrocatalysts with Pt-Co and Pt-Sn nanoparticles for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Abstract

Nanosized Pt-Sn/VC and Pt-Co/VC electrocatalysts were prepared by a one-step radiation-induced reduction (30 kGy) process using distilled water as the solvent and Vulcan XC72 as the supporting material. While the Pt-Co/VC electrodes were compared with Pt/VC (40 wt%, HiSpec 4000), in terms of their electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of H2, the Pt-Co/VC electrodes were evaluated in terms of their activity towards the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) and compared with Pt/VC (40 wt%, HiSpec 4000), Pt-Co/VC, and Pt-Sn/VC in a single cell. Additionally, the prepared electrocatalyst samples (Pt-Co/VC and Pt-Sn/VC) were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), electrochemical surface area (ECSA), and fuel cell polarization performance. © 2014 Sang Kyum Kim et al.