Chem. J. Chinese Universities ›› 2023, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (6): 20230016.doi: 10.7503/cjcu20230016

• Physical Chemistry • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Study on Nitrogen-doped PtCo/C Alloy Catalyst

ZHAO Qian1, LI Shang1,2(), CHENG Kuangwei1, WEN Zhiyong1, ZHANG Xiaoyu1, YI Shaojie1, PAN Mu1,2   

  1. 1.State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing,Wuhan University of Technology,Wuhan 430070,China
    2.Foshan Xianhu Laboratory of the Advanced Energy Science and Technology,Guangdong Laboratory,Foshan 528200,China
  • Received:2023-01-13 Online:2023-06-10 Published:2023-03-09
  • Contact: LI Shang E-mail:lishang@whut.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    the National Natural Science Foundation of China(22075218)

Abstract:

The modification of alloy catalysts to achieve the activity required for the commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs) has attracted extensive attention in recent years. The performance of PtM (M=transition metal) nanomaterials as catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) in PEMFC is higher than that of pure Pt, but there is room for improvement. Nonmetallic elements have a good affinity with platinum and can be added to catalysts. In this study, the activity and stability of the catalyst were enhanced by adjusting the content of nitrogen atoms in commercial PtCo/C. Finally, the MA of the catalyst was increased twice as much as before modification, the half-wave potential increased from 0.90 V to 0.93 V, and after 5000 cycles between 0.6 V and 1.0 V, the drop of half-wave potential decreased from 66 mV to 26 mV, showing excellent ORR activity and stability. The improvement of the activity was mainly attributed to the decrease of the adsorption binding energy of the oxygen- containing intermediates and the increase of the desorption rate of the hydroxyl group in the ORR process. The improved durability indicates that the presence of Pt—N bond makes the catalyst less likely to dissolve during the cycle, which contributes to the stability of the alloy catalyst on the carbon support. This experiment provides an effective treatment strategy for improving the activity and durability of alloy catalyst.

Key words: Proton exchange membrane fuel cell, Alloy catalyst, Nitrogen doping

CLC Number: 

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