Synergistic effect of polyaniline on stabilizing Pt nanoparticles in PEMFCs

Li, Chenzhao; Zhu, Limin; Song, Liang; Zhu, Guangqi; Zhang, Qi; Zhao, Yuyue; Gong, Qing; Sun, Chengjun; Liu, Yuzi; Sasaki, Kotaro; Xie, Jian

doi:10.1039/d2ta08135k

Synergistic effect of polyaniline on stabilizing Pt nanoparticles in PEMFCs

Journal Article · Fri Mar 24 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Journal of Materials Chemistry. A

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1039/d2ta08135k· OSTI ID:1972473

^[1]; Zhu, Limin ^[2]; Song, Liang ^[3]; Zhu, Guangqi ^[4]; Zhang, Qi ^[4]; Zhao, Yuyue ^[5]; Gong, Qing ^[4]; Sun, Chengjun ^[6]; Liu, Yuzi ^[7]; ^[3]; ^[4]

Indiana Univ.-Purdue Univ. Indianapolis (IUPUI), Indianapolis, IN (United States). Purdue School of Engineering and Technology; Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)
Indiana Univ.-Purdue Univ. Indianapolis (IUPUI), Indianapolis, IN (United States). Purdue School of Engineering and Technology; Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou (China)
Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Indiana Univ.-Purdue Univ. Indianapolis (IUPUI), Indianapolis, IN (United States). Purdue School of Engineering and Technology
Indiana Univ.-Purdue Univ. Indianapolis (IUPUI), Indianapolis, IN (United States). Purdue School of Engineering and Technology; Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Center for Nanoscale Materials
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Center for Nanoscale Materials

The stability of Pt nanoparticles on a carbon support is crucial for the lifespan of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells as well as other electrocatalysis systems such as electrolyzers. Here we took the approach of utilizing the covalently grafted polyaniline on carbon to stabilize Pt nanoparticles by simultaneously alleviating the particle migration and mitigating the Ostwald ripening, which are two major mechanisms for loss of the catalyst stability. A comprehensive investigation of the stability and performance of Pt catalyst nanoparticles on these supports reveals that the polyaniline can shift the Pt L edge binding energy and the Pt 4f peak energy, leading to the increased redox potential of the Pt nanoparticles and making them more resistant to oxidation. Interestingly, the highest polyaniline density (50 wt%) does not show the best catalyst stability, rather, the second (33 wt%) demonstrates the best catalyst stability among these catalysts. Combining the XPS, XAS and fuel cell stability studies, we concluded that the locations of the Pt nanoparticles over the polyaniline layer on the carbon surface depend on the surface density of the polyaniline over the carbon surface. The Pt nanoparticles in the 50 wt% polyaniline catalyst are wrapped by the polyaniline polymer but do not sit directly on the carbon surface, while Pt nanoparticles in the 33 wt% polyaniline catalyst sit on the carbon surface and are densely surrounded by the polyaniline polymer. Further, the results show that the mass activity loss is 12.5% while the ECSA (electrochemically active surface area) loss is 37.1% after 30k cycles of accelerating stress test for the 33 wt% polyaniline catalyst, far exceeding the DOE 2020 target for MEA (i.e., mass activity loss < 50%, and ECSA loss < 40%). Overall, the polyaniline has a synergistic effect on mitigating the surface migration and slowing down the Ostwald ripening to stabilize the Pt nanoparticles in fuel cells. The novel strategy to stabilize Pt nanoparticles using polyaniline opens a new pathway in the development of highly stable catalysts: relying on the functionalization group on the carbon support, instead of just focusing on the catalyst itself.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN); Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS); Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Center for Nanoscale Materials

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

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0012704; AC02-06CH11357

OSTI ID:: 1972473

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2007052

Report Number(s):: BNL-224266-2023-JAAM

Journal Information:: Journal of Materials Chemistry. A, Journal Name: Journal of Materials Chemistry. A Journal Issue: 14 Vol. 11; ISSN 2050-7488

Publisher:: Royal Society of ChemistryCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
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