Direct Integration of Strained-Pt Catalysts into Proton-Exchange-Membrane Fuel Cells with Atomic Layer Deposition.

Xu, Shicheng; Wang, Zhaoxuan; Dull, Sam; Liu, Yunzhi; Lee, Dong Un; Lezama Pacheco, Juan S; Orazov, Marat; Vullum, Per Erik et al. · Adv Mater · 2021

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The design and fabrication of lattice-strained platinum catalysts achieved by removing a soluble core from a platinum shell synthesized via atomic layer deposition, is reported. The remarkable catalytic performance for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), measured in both half-cell and full-cell configurations, is attributed to the observed lattice strain. By further optimizing the nanoparticle geometry and ionomer/carbon interactions, mass activity close to 0.8 A mg<sub>Pt</sub> <sup>-1</sup> @0.9 V iR-free is achievable in the membrane electrode assembly. Nevertheless, active catalysts with high ORR activity do not necessarily lead to high performance in the high-current-density (HCD) region. More attention shall be directed toward HCD performance for enabling high-power-density hydrogen fuel cells.