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Durability evaluation of a Fe–N–C catalyst in polymer electrolyte fuel cell environment via accelerated stress tests

Journal Article · · Nano Energy
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [1]
  1. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
  2. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  3. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  4. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Lemont, IL (United States)
In this work, an “atomically-dispersed” iron-nitrogen-carbon (Fe–N–C) catalyst was used to provide a systematic comparison of platinum group metal (PGM)-free electrocatalyst degradation as a function of accelerated stress tests (ASTs) in an acidic polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC). It was determined that the majority of catalyst degradation was caused by cell operation in presence of O2. In contrast, potential cycling of the Fe–N–C-containing cathode under inert atmosphere over typical PEFC cathode operation from 0.95 to 0.6 V had little to no effect. The increase in kinetic overpotential is shown to be the major source of the PEFC performance decrease during the ASTs. These results continue to showcase the need for development of robust PGM-free electrocatalysts in concert with improved electrochemical performance.
Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Transportation Office. Fuel Cell Technologies Office; USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
Grant/Contract Number:
89233218CNA000001; AC02-06CH11357; AC05-00OR22725; AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1660240
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1809804
OSTI ID: 1841939
OSTI ID: 1771883
OSTI ID: 1777119
Report Number(s):
LA-UR--21-23812; NREL/JA--5900-77098; MainId:26044; UUID:4061afa3-8c42-4871-a48f-aabecff3a2ed; MainAdminID:17336
Journal Information:
Nano Energy, Journal Name: Nano Energy Vol. 78; ISSN 2211-2855
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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