High efficiency of Pt2+ - CeO2 novel thin film catalyst as anode for proton exchange membrane fuel cells
Abstract The elevated price of Pt limits the large-scale implementation of commercial proton exchange membrane fuel cells, which effectively convert chemical energy into electricity. In order to increase the cost-efficiency in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells, we have designed a family of novel anode catalysts consisting of thin films of ceria with low Pt loadings sputtered on a nanostructured carbon support. Remarkably, only such small amounts of Pt are necessary for achieving power density values comparable to the reference commercial catalysts, which results in excellent specific activities of our samples. By combining photoelectron spectroscopy and catalytic performance analysis, we …
Pt–CeO thin film catalysts for PEMFC
Abstract Platinum is the mostly used element in catalysts for fuel cell technology, but its high price limits large-scale applications. Platinum doped cerium oxide represents an alternative solution due to very low loading, typically few micrograms per 1 cm2, at the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) anode. High efficiency is achieved by using magnetron sputtering deposition of cerium oxide and Pt of 30 nm thick nanoporous films on large surface carbon nanoparticle substrates. Thin film techniques permits to grow the catalyst film characterized by highly dispersed platinum, mostly in ionic Pt2+ state. Such dispersed Pt species show high activity and stability. These new materials ma…