High performance platinum single atom electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 28737170.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/ncomms15938 and PMC identifier 5527280.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
For the large-scale sustainable implementation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells in vehicles, high-performance electrocatalysts with low platinum consumption are desirable for use as cathode material during the oxygen reduction reaction in fuel cells. Here we report a carbon black-supported cost-effective, efficient and durable platinum single-atom electrocatalyst with carbon monoxide/methanol tolerance for the cathodic oxygen reduction reaction. The acidic single-cell with such a catalyst as cathode delivers high performance, with power density up to 680 mW cm<sup>-2</sup> at 80 °C with a low platinum loading of 0.09 mg<sub>Pt</sub> cm<sup>-2</sup>, corresponding to a platinum utilization of 0.13 g<sub>Pt</sub> kW<sup>-1</sup> in the fuel cell. Good fuel cell durability is also observed. Theoretical calculations reveal that the main effective sites on such platinum single-atom electrocatalysts are single-pyridinic-nitrogen-atom-anchored single-platinum-atom centres, which are tolerant to carbon monoxide/methanol, but highly active for the oxygen reduction reaction.