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Core–Shell Nanoparticles as Cathode Catalysts for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

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Core-Shell and Yolk-Shell Nanocatalysts

Part of the book series: Nanostructure Science and Technology ((NST))

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Abstract

Core–shell nanoparticles (NPs), which consist of foreign metal core NPs and Pt shells with one or two monolayers, are attractive cathode catalyst candidates for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs), because the utilization of Pt is greatly improved, leading to the improved mass activity of Pt (MAPt) for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). We have found that Pd core-Pt shell (Pt/Pd) NP catalysts whose core size was 3.3 and 4.2 nm were ca. 5.5 and 5 times as high in MAPt for ORR as commercial Pt NP-loaded carbon black (Pt/C) catalyst, respectively. In this study, to further improve MAPt, carbon-supported Pd100-xAux alloy core NPs with different compositions and core sizes were prepared. MAPt showed a volcano-type relationship with the Au content and core size, suggesting that the ORR activity could be optimized by these factors. The increase in MAPt was ascribed to that of SAPt which was influenced by the compressive strain of core–shell NPs or surface Pt–Pt distance of a Pt monolayer shell. The MAPt for the Pd90Au10 core-Pt shell-loaded carbon (Pt/Pd90Au10/C) electrode was ca. 8 and 1.5 times as high as that for the commercial Pt/C and Pt/Pd/C electrodes, respectively. In terms of durability, the Pt/Pd80Au20/C electrode was superior to the other electrodes because Au atoms segregated to the NP surfaces and protected defective sites on Pt monolayer shells.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partly supported by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) through the Industrial Technology Research Grant Program (08002049-0). We appreciate Dr. Masanobu Chiku (Osaka Prefecture University) for his helpful discussion in this study, and Mr. Taiki Kuwahara (presently Toyota Motor Corporation) for his experimental assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka Prefecture University, Sakai, Osaka, 599-8531, Japan

    Hiroshi Inoue & Eiji Higuchi

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  1. Hiroshi Inoue
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  2. Eiji Higuchi
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Correspondence to Hiroshi Inoue .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Materials Science, Osaka University, Suita, Japan

    Hiromi Yamashita

  2. Department of Chemistry, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China

    Hexing Li

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Inoue, H., Higuchi, E. (2021). Core–Shell Nanoparticles as Cathode Catalysts for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells. In: Yamashita, H., Li, H. (eds) Core-Shell and Yolk-Shell Nanocatalysts. Nanostructure Science and Technology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0463-8_18

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