Active and Durable PGM-free Cathodic Electrocatalysts for Fuel Cell Application
- Pajarito Powder, LLC, Albuquerque, NM (United States); Pajarito Powder, LLC; tstephenson@pajaritopowder.com
- Pajarito Powder, LLC, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Platinum Group Metal-free (PGM-free) Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts possess high intrinsic activity measured by a Rotating Disk Electrode (RDE) method. However, under fuel cell operating conditions, PGM-free ORR electrocatalysts have underperformed compared to platinum catalysts. PGM-free ORR electrocatalyst’s fuel cell performance can be improved by designing and optimizing the cathodic catalyst layer (CL) and Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) construction such that: 1) it efficiently provides oxygen access to ORR active sites (through catalyst morphology control); 2) it removes water from the CL (by tuning the hydrophobicity of the PGM-free catalysts and the catalyst layer structure); and 3) it increases proton conductivity (by homogeneous mixing of catalysts and ionomer). Studying the CL is complex due to the absence of well-established protocols of MEA activation, especially compared to platinum-containing catalysts. PGM-free fuel cell testing protocols would need to optimize potentiostatic vs galvanostatic measurements, scan rates, parameters of Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and Beginning of Experiment (BOE) criteria. To make the PGM-free catalyst’s fuel cell performance comparable to platinum, the synergistic effort of materials design, fine tuning of the catalyst layer and comprehensive electrochemical analysis is required.
- Research Organization:
- Pajarito Powder, LLC, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO)
- DOE Contract Number:
- EE0008419
- OSTI ID:
- 2371586
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-PP--8419
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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