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Hydrogen Oxidation‐Selective Electrocatalysis by Fine Tuning of Pt Ensemble Sites to Enhance the Durability of Automotive Fuel Cells
Author(s) -
Yun SuWon,
Park ShinAe,
Kim TaeJune,
Kim JunHyuk,
Pak GiWoong,
Kim YongTae
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201601274
Subject(s) - electrocatalyst , durability , fuel cells , automotive industry , hydrogen , hydrogen fuel , catalysis , materials science , chemical engineering , chemistry , nanotechnology , electrochemistry , engineering , electrode , composite material , organic chemistry , aerospace engineering
Abstract A simple, inexpensive approach is proposed for enhancing the durability of automotive proton exchange membrane fuel cells by selective promotion of the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) and suppression of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the anode in startup/shutdown events. Dodecanethiol forms a self‐assembled monolayer (SAM) on the surface of Pt particles, thus decreasing the number of Pt ensemble sites. Interestingly, by controlling the dodecanethiol concentration during SAM formation, the number of ensemble sites can be precisely optimized such that it is sufficient for the HOR but insufficient for the ORR. Thus, a Pt surface with an SAM of dodecanethiol clearly effects HOR‐selective electrocatalysis. Clear HOR selectivity is demonstrated in unit cell tests with the actual membrane electrode assembly, as well as in an electrochemical three‐electrode setup with a thin‐film rotating disk electrode configuration.