Alternative catalysts and carbon support material for PEMFC

In order to investigate the possibility of increasing the reactivity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) of the cathode in a PEMFC a series of Pt/C catalysts was prepared using water-in-oil microemulsions for synthesizing Pt nanoparticles. The Pt nanoparticles were deposited on porous carbon support (Vulcan XC-72 or a mesoporous carbon) and the catalysts were processed into MEAs. The MEA samples were evaluated and compared with a commercial sample and with Pt/C catalyst samples prepared using a conventional direct impregnation method. The mesoporous carbon support investigated as a potential alternative to Vulcan XC72 has a very high specific surface area and a narrow pore size distribution. The materials were characterized with XRD, TEM, SEM-EDX, N-2 sorption and steady state polarization. It was found that it is possible to increase the ORR reactivity using the microemulsion route for formation of Pt nanoparticles. It was concluded that the MEA processing conditions for the mesoporous carbon support have to be modified to reach improved ORR reactivity, likely due to the large differences in specific surface area, porosity and conductivity compared to the Vulcan carbon.