The effect of Cr alloying with Pt/C as an electrocatalyst for low temperature PEM fuel cell

ABSTRACT

A sonochemical or ultrasound-assisted method was proposed to synthesize bimetallic Pt-Cr nanoparticles. Later, these Pt-Cr nanoparticles were sonochemically supported on a carbon surface (Pt-Cr/C) to produce an electrocatalyst. The obtained electrocatalyst was coated on the cathode electrode to evaluate its catalytic activity in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell operation. The series of combinations and effects of bimetallic electrocatalysts (Pt:Cr atomic ratio = 83:17, 75:25, and 50:50) were assessed for the PEM fuel cell application. The morphology, size, and alloy formation of as-synthesized Pt-Cr/C electrocatalyst were analyzed by TEM, PSD, and XRD. The electrochemical characteristics, such as open-circuit potential, oxygen reduction reaction, the electrochemical active surface area (EASA) of the Pt-Cr/C electrocatalyst, were determined using CV and LSV. The performances of as-prepared Pt-Cr/C cathode MEA’s were compared with commercial 40 wt. % Pt/C cathode MEA in PEM fuel cell. Among them Pt₈₃-Cr₁₇ coated cathode exhibits higher power density of 0.138 W/cm² at 0.38 V.

KEYWORDS:

• PEM fuel cell
• bimetallic nanoparticles
• ultrasound
• Pt-Cr/C catalyst
• power density

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).