High-Current Density Durability of Pt/C and PtCo/C Catalysts at Similar Particle Sizes in PEMFCs

Ramaswamy, Nagappan; Kumaraguru, Swami; Gu, Wenbin; Kukreja, Ratandeep Singh; Yu, Kang; Groom, Daniel; Ferreira, Paulo

doi:10.1149/1945-7111/abe5ea

Title: High-Current Density Durability of Pt/C and PtCo/C Catalysts at Similar Particle Sizes in PEMFCs

Journal Article · Mon Feb 22 00:00:00 EST 2021 · Journal of the Electrochemical Society

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1149/1945-7111/abe5ea· OSTI ID:1835450

; Kumaraguru, Swami; Gu, Wenbin; Kukreja, Ratandeep Singh; Yu, Kang; Groom, Daniel; Ferreira, Paulo

The durability of carbon supported PtCo-alloy based nanoparticle catalysts play a key role in the longevity of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) in electric vehicle applications. To improve its durability, it is important to understand and mitigate the various factors that cause PtCo-based cathode catalyst layers (CCL) to lose performance over time. These factors include i) electrochemical surface area (ECSA) loss, ii) specific activity loss, iii) H ⁺ /O ₂ -transport changes and iv) Co ²⁺ contamination effects. We use a catalyst-specific accelerated stress test (AST) voltage cycling protocol to compare the durability of Pt and PtCo catalysts at similar average nanoparticle size and distribution. Our studies indicate that while Pt and PtCo nanoparticle catalysts suffer from similar magnitudes of electrochemical surface area (ECSA) losses, PtCo catalyst shows a significantly larger cell voltage loss at high current densities upon durability testing. The distinctive factor causing the large cell voltage loss of PtCo catalyst appears to be the secondary effects of the leached Co ²⁺ cations that contaminate the electrode ionomer. A 1D performance model has been used to quantify the cell voltage losses arising from various factors causing degradation of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA).

View Journal Article

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: General Motors LLC, Pontiac, MI (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO)

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0007651; EE0008821

OSTI ID:: 1835450

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2281791

Journal Information:: Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Journal Name: Journal of the Electrochemical Society Vol. 168 Journal Issue: 2; ISSN 0013-4651

Publisher:: The Electrochemical SocietyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (51)

Instability of Supported Platinum Nanoparticles in Low-Temperature Fuel Cells Shao-Horn, Y.; Sheng, W. C.; Chen, S. Topics in Catalysis, Vol. 46, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11244-007-9000-0	journal	November 2007
3D Analysis of Fuel Cell Electrocatalyst Degradation on Alternate Carbon Supports Sneed, Brian T.; Cullen, David A.; Reeves, Kimberly S. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Vol. 9, Issue 35 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b09716	journal	August 2017
PtCo Cathode Catalyst Morphological and Compositional Changes after PEM Fuel Cell Accelerated Stress Testing Sneed, Brian T.; Cullen, David A.; Mukundan, R. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 165, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0091806jes	journal	January 2018
The Priority and Challenge of High-Power Performance of Low-Platinum Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells Kongkanand, Anusorn; Mathias, Mark F. The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, Vol. 7, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.6b00216	journal	March 2016
Modeling the steady-state effects of cationic contamination on polymer electrolyte membranes Kienitz, B. L.; Baskaran, H.; Zawodzinski, T. A. Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 54, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2008.09.058	journal	February 2009
Effects of carbon supports on Pt distribution, ionomer coverage and cathode performance for polymer electrolyte fuel cells Park, Young-Chul; Tokiwa, Haruki; Kakinuma, Katsuyoshi Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 315 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2016.02.091	journal	May 2016
Carbon Corrosion in PEM Fuel Cells and the Development of Accelerated Stress Tests Macauley, Natalia; Papadias, Dennis D.; Fairweather, Joseph Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 165, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0061806jes	journal	January 2018
Recent developments in catalyst-related PEM fuel cell durability Borup, Rodney L.; Kusoglu, Ahmet; Neyerlin, Kenneth C. Current Opinion in Electrochemistry, Vol. 21 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coelec.2020.02.007	journal	June 2020
Activity benchmarks and requirements for Pt, Pt-alloy, and non-Pt oxygen reduction catalysts for PEMFCs Gasteiger, Hubert A.; Kocha, Shyam S.; Sompalli, Bhaskar Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, Vol. 56, Issue 1-2, p. 9-35 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2004.06.021	journal	March 2005
A review of PEM fuel cell durability: materials degradation, local heterogeneities of aging and possible mitigation strategies: A review of PEM fuel cell durability Dubau, Laetitia; Castanheira, Luis; Maillard, Frédéric Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Vol. 3, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1002/wene.113	journal	March 2014
Mitigation of PEM Fuel Cell Catalyst Degradation with Porous Carbon Supports Padgett, Elliot; Yarlagadda, Venkata; Holtz, Megan E. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 166, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0371904jes	journal	January 2019
Platinum-Alloy Cathode Catalyst Degradation in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: Nanometer-Scale Compositional and Morphological Changes Chen, Shuo; Gasteiger, Hubert A.; Hayakawa, Katsuichiro Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 157, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1149/1.3258275	journal	January 2010
Modeling the cation transport in an operating polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) Serincan, Mustafa Fazil; Pasaogullari, Ugur; Molter, Trent International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 35, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2010.02.137	journal	June 2010
Scientific Aspects of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Durability and Degradation Borup, Rod; Meyers, Jeremy; Pivovar, Bryan Chemical Reviews, Vol. 107, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1021/cr050182l	journal	October 2007
PEMFC contamination model: Foreign cation exchange with ionomer protons St-Pierre, Jean Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 196, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2011.04.008	journal	August 2011
Automatic segmentation of inorganic nanoparticles in BF TEM micrographs Groom, D. J.; Yu, K.; Rasouli, S. Ultramicroscopy, Vol. 194 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultramic.2018.06.002	journal	November 2018
Editors' Choice—Connecting Fuel Cell Catalyst Nanostructure and Accessibility Using Quantitative Cryo-STEM Tomography Padgett, Elliot; Andrejevic, Nina; Liu, Zhongyi Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 165, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0541803jes	journal	January 2018
Potential Dependence of Pt and Co Dissolution from Platinum-Cobalt Alloy PEFC Catalysts Using Time-Resolved Measurements Ahluwalia, Rajesh K.; Papadias, Dionissios D.; Kariuki, Nancy N. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 165, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0031806jes	journal	January 2018
Modeling the impact of cation contamination in a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell Greszler, T. A.; Moylan, T. E.; Gasteiger, H. A. Handbook of Fuel Cells https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470974001.f500049	book	December 2010
Lattice-strain control of the activity in dealloyed core–shell fuel cell catalysts Strasser, Peter; Koh, Shirlaine; Anniyev, Toyli Nature Chemistry, Vol. 2, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.623	journal	April 2010
Fuel Cell Catalyst Layers: A Polymer Science Perspective Holdcroft, Steven Chemistry of Materials, Vol. 26, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1021/cm401445h	journal	July 2013
Carbon Support Microstructure Impact on High Current Density Transport Resistances in PEMFC Cathode Ramaswamy, Nagappan; Gu, Wenbin; Ziegelbauer, Joseph M. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 167, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1149/1945-7111/ab819c	journal	January 2020
Measurement of Catalyst Layer Electrolyte Resistance in PEFCs Using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Makharia, Rohit; Mathias, Mark F.; Baker, Daniel R. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 152, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1149/1.1888367	journal	January 2005
Durability of Pt-Co Alloy Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Cathode Catalysts under Accelerated Stress Tests Papadias, D. D.; Ahluwalia, R. K.; Kariuki, N. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 165, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0171806jes	journal	January 2018
Record activity and stability of dealloyed bimetallic catalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells Han, Binghong; Carlton, Christopher E.; Kongkanand, Anusorn Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 8, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1039/C4EE02144D	journal	January 2015
Durability of platinum-based fuel cell electrocatalysts: Dissolution of bulk and nanoscale platinum Cherevko, Serhiy; Kulyk, Nadiia; Mayrhofer, Karl J. J. Nano Energy, Vol. 29 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2016.03.005	journal	November 2016
Activity, Stability, and Degradation Mechanisms of Dealloyed PtCu3 and PtCo3 Nanoparticle Fuel Cell Catalysts Hasché, Frédéric; Oezaslan, Mehtap; Strasser, Peter ChemCatChem https://doi.org/10.1002/cctc.201100169	journal	September 2011
Boosting Fuel Cell Performance with Accessible Carbon Mesopores Yarlagadda, Venkata; Carpenter, Michael K.; Moylan, Thomas E. ACS Energy Letters, Vol. 3, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenergylett.8b00186	journal	February 2018
Three-Dimensional Spatial Distributions of Pt Catalyst Nanoparticles on Carbon Substrates in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells Ito, Toshihiko; Matsuwaki, Ukyo; Otsuka, Yuji Electrochemistry, Vol. 79, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.5796/electrochemistry.79.374	journal	January 2011
Measurement of Oxygen Transport Resistance in PEM Fuel Cells by Limiting Current Methods Baker, Daniel R.; Caulk, David A.; Neyerlin, Kenneth C. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 156, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1149/1.3152226	journal	January 2009
The Impact of Platinum Loading on Oxygen Transport Resistance Greszler, Thomas A.; Caulk, David; Sinha, Puneet Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 159, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.061212jes	journal	January 2012
Materials research and development focus areas for low cost automotive proton-exchange membrane fuel cells Gittleman, Craig S.; Kongkanand, Anusorn; Masten, David Current Opinion in Electrochemistry, Vol. 18 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coelec.2019.10.009	journal	December 2019
The Key to High Performance Low Pt Loaded Electrodes Orfanidi, A.; Madkikar, P.; El-Sayed, H. A. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 164, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.1621704jes	journal	January 2017
Durable PEM Fuel Cell Electrode Materials: Requirements and Benchmarking Methodologies Makharia, Rohit; Kocha, Shyam; Yu, Paul 208th ECS Meeting, ECS Transactions https://doi.org/10.1149/1.2214540	conference	January 2006
Effects of Cobalt Cation on Low Pt-loaded PEM Fuel Cell Performance Cai, Y.; Kongkanand, A.; Gu, W. ECS Transactions, Vol. 69, Issue 17 https://doi.org/10.1149/06917.1047ecst	journal	September 2015
Real-time imaging of activation and degradation of carbon supported octahedral Pt–Ni alloy fuel cell catalysts at the nanoscale using in situ electrochemical liquid cell STEM Beermann, Vera; Holtz, Megan E.; Padgett, Elliot Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 12, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1039/C9EE01185D	journal	January 2019
Effect of Particle Size and Operating Conditions on Pt3Co PEMFC Cathode Catalyst Durability Gummalla, Mallika; Ball, Sarah; Condit, David Catalysts, Vol. 5, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.3390/catal5020926	journal	May 2015
The impact of the morphology of the carbon support on the activity and stability of nanoparticle fuel cell catalysts Tuaev, Xenia; Rudi, Stefan; Strasser, Peter Catalysis Science & Technology, Vol. 6, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1039/C6CY01679K	journal	January 2016
Systematic Study on the Impact of Pt Particle Size and Operating Conditions on PEMFC Cathode Catalyst Durability Yang, Z.; Ball, S.; Condit, D. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 158, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.081111jes	journal	January 2011
Load cycle durability of a graphitized carbon black-supported platinum catalyst in polymer electrolyte fuel cell cathodes Takei, Chikara; Kakinuma, Katsuyoshi; Kawashima, Kazuhito Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 324 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2016.05.117	journal	August 2016
Two Fuel Cell Cars In Every Garage? Mathias, Mark F.; Makharia, Rohit; Gasteiger, Hubert A. The Electrochemical Society Interface, Vol. 14, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.F05053IF	journal	September 2005
Atomic Structure and Composition of “Pt ₃ Co” Nanocatalysts in Fuel Cells: An Aberration-Corrected STEM HAADF Study Patrick, Brian; Ham, Hyung Chul; Shao-Horn, Yang Chemistry of Materials, Vol. 25, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1021/cm3029164	journal	February 2013
The quantitative analysis of thin specimens Cliff, G.; Lorimer, G. W. Journal of Microscopy, Vol. 103, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2818.1975.tb03895.x	journal	March 1975
Effects of Catalyst Carbon Support on Proton Conduction and Cathode Performance in PEM Fuel Cells Liu, Yuxiu; Ji, Chunxin; Gu, Wenbin Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 158, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1149/1.3562945	journal	January 2011
Degradation Mechanisms of Platinum Nanoparticle Catalysts in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: The Role of Particle Size Yu, Kang; Groom, Daniel J.; Wang, Xiaoping Chemistry of Materials, Vol. 26, Issue 19 https://doi.org/10.1021/cm501867c	journal	September 2014
Electrode Edge Cobalt Cation Migration in an Operating Fuel Cell: An In Situ Micro-X-ray Fluorescence Study Cai, Yun; Ziegelbauer, Joseph M.; Baker, Andrew M. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 165, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0201806jes	journal	January 2018
Electrocatalysis on Platinum Nanoparticles: Particle Size Effect on Oxygen Reduction Reaction Activity Shao, Minhua; Peles, Amra; Shoemaker, Krista Nano Letters, Vol. 11, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1021/nl2017459	journal	September 2011
Relative Humidity Dependence of Pt Utilization in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Electrodes: Effects of Electrode Thickness, Ionomer-to-Carbon Ratio, Ionomer Equivalent Weight, and Carbon Support Shinozaki, Kazuma; Yamada, Haruhiko; Morimoto, Yu Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 158, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1149/1.3556906	journal	January 2011
On the Micro-, Meso-, and Macroporous Structures of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Catalyst Layers Soboleva, Tatyana; Zhao, Xinsheng; Malek, Kourosh ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Vol. 2, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1021/am900600y	journal	January 2010
Effect of Hydrogen and Oxygen Partial Pressure on Pt Precipitation within the Membrane of PEMFCs Zhang, Jingxin; Litteer, Brian A.; Gu, Wenbin Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 154, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1149/1.2764240	journal	January 2007
Recent Advances in Catalyst Accelerated Stress Tests for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells Stariha, Sarah; Macauley, Natalia; Sneed, Brian T. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 165, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0881807jes	journal	January 2018

Similar Records

High-Current Density Durability of Pt/C and PtCo/C Catalysts at Similar Particle Sizes in PEMFCs

Journal Article · Mon Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2021 · Journal of the Electrochemical Society · OSTI ID:1835450

Ramaswamy, Nagappan; Kumaraguru, Swami; Gu, Wenbin; +4 more

Improving Durability of Fuel Cells with Platinum-rich Alloy Cathode Catalysts

Journal Article · Wed May 17 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Journal of the Electrochemical Society · OSTI ID:1835450

Ramaswamy, Nagappan; Kumaraguru, Swami; Jarvis, Karalee; +1 more

Mitigation of PtCo/C Cathode Catalyst Degradation via Control of Relative Humidity

Journal Article · Fri Dec 24 00:00:00 EST 2021 · Journal of the Electrochemical Society · OSTI ID:1835450

Ramaswamy, Nagappan; Kumaraguru, Swami; Kukreja, Ratandeep Singh; +3 more

Related Subjects

08 HYDROGEN
PEMFC
PtCo alloy Catalyst
cathode
durability

Title: High-Current Density Durability of Pt/C and PtCo/C Catalysts at Similar Particle Sizes in PEMFCs

Citation Formats

References (51)

Similar Records

Related Subjects