Evaluation of Pt-Co Nano-Catalyzed Membranes for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Applications

Sethu Sundar Pethaiah, Arunkumar Jayakumar () and Kalyani Palanichamy
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Sethu Sundar Pethaiah: School of Engineering and Technology, St. Peter’s Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai 600054, India
Arunkumar Jayakumar: School of Engineering and Technology, St. Peter’s Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai 600054, India
Kalyani Palanichamy: Department of Chemistry, Directorate of Distance Education, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai 625021, India

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 23, 1-16

Abstract: The membrane electrode assembly (MEA) encompassing the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) and catalyst layers are the key components in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs). The cost of the PEMFC stacks has been limiting its commercialization due to the inflated price of conventional platinum (Pt)-based catalysts. As a consequence, the authors of this paper focus on developing novel bi-metallic (Pt-Co) nano-alloy-catalyzed MEAs using the non-equilibrium impregnation–reduction (NEIR) approach with an aim to reduce the Pt content, and hence, the cost. Herein, the MEAs are fabricated on a Nafion ® membrane with a 0.4 mg Pt cm −2 Pt:Co electrocatalyst loading at three atomic ratios, viz., 90:10, 70:30, and 50:50. The High Resolution-Scanning Electron Microscopic (HR-SEM) characterization of the MEAs show a favorable surface morphology with a uniform distribution of Pt-Co alloy particles with an average size of about 15–25 µm. Under standard fuel cell test conditions, an MEA with a 50:50 atomic ratio of Pt:Co exhibited a peak power density of 0.879 Wcm −2 for H 2 /O 2 and 0.727 Wcm −2 for H 2 /air systems. The X-ray diffractometry (XRD), SEM, EDX, Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), impedance, and polarization studies validate that Pt:Co can be a potential affordable alternative to high-cost Pt. Additionally, a high degree of stability in the fuel cell performance was also demonstrated with Pt 50 :Co 50 .

Keywords: Pt:Co alloy; bi-metallic nano-alloy electrocatalyst; non-equilibrium impregnation–reduction (NEIR) method; peak power; degree of stability; MEA; GDE; PEMFC; Nafion ® (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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