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Impact of Highly Stable Catalyst Support Materials on Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Performance
Author(s) -
Mohanta Paritosh Kumar,
Regnet Fabian,
Jörissen Ludwig
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
energy technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 2194-4296
pISSN - 2194-4288
DOI - 10.1002/ente.202000081
Subject(s) - catalysis , carbon black , electrolyte , materials science , membrane electrode assembly , proton exchange membrane fuel cell , ionomer , chemical engineering , carbon fibers , catalyst support , electrochemistry , platinum , polymer , membrane , durability , corrosion , electrode , composite material , chemistry , organic chemistry , copolymer , biochemistry , natural rubber , composite number , engineering
Durability of catalyst support materials is one of the big challenges for long‐term fuel cell operation. The performance stabilities of stabilized carbons as cathode catalyst supports for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are investigated. Homemade platinum (Pt) electrocatalysts are prepared on stabilized carbons and a traditional carbon black support. Subsequently, the characterization results of homemade catalysts are compared with a commercial catalyst. The characterization tools such as the measurement of electrochemical active surface areas (ECSAs), oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activities, durability of both the Pt and the supports, and eventually membrane electrode assembly (MEA) single cell tests are implemented herein. The stabilized carbon supported catalysts show comparable ORR activities as well as improved corrosion resistance in terms of ECSA survival rates under accelerated stress conditions compared with the conventional supported catalysts. In addition, the dependency of MEA performances on the ionomer‐to‐carbon ratio on the catalyst layers is established.