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Investigation of the durability of Pt/C–RuO2·xH2O catalyst in PEMFC

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Abstract

Pt/C–RuO2·xH2O catalyst was successfully prepared through the deposition of hydrated RuO2·xH2O on Pt/C catalyst for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The Pt/C and Pt/C–RuO2·xH2O catalysts were compared using physical and electrochemical techniques. The ON–OFF cycling test results showed sudden cell failures after 1,850 and 1,160 cycles for Pt/C–RuO2·xH2O and Pt/C, respectively. Nearly 11.2% of the cell voltage of Pt/C–RuO2·xH2O was lost after 1,160 cycles, compared with 26.3% for Pt/C. The charge transfer resistances of Pt/C–RuO2·xH2O and Pt/C increased from 0.5217 and 0.5366 Ω to 0.5732 and 0.7261 Ω, respectively. The remaining electrochemical active surface area of Pt was about 30.6% in Pt/C and about 68.9% in Pt/C–RuO2·xH2O after the ON–OFF test. The mean particle size of Pt/C significantly increased from 4.6 to 8.9 nm, whereas that of Pt/C–RuO2·xH2O increased from 4.3 to 6.3 nm. Therefore, the long-term durability of Pt/C–RuO2·xH2O in a PEMFC was much better than that of Pt/C.

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Acknowledgments

The financial support of this work, by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No.20776023, 20976018 is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of New Energy Battery, Dalian Jiaotong University, Huanghe Road 794#, Dalian, 116028, People’s Republic of China

    Lu Lu, Hongfeng Xu, Hong Zhao, Shaomin Zhu & Ruiming Ren

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  1. Lu Lu
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  2. Hongfeng Xu
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  3. Hong Zhao
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  4. Shaomin Zhu
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  5. Ruiming Ren
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Correspondence to Hongfeng Xu.

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Lu, L., Xu, H., Zhao, H. et al. Investigation of the durability of Pt/C–RuO2·xH2O catalyst in PEMFC. J Appl Electrochem 42, 201–207 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-012-0388-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-012-0388-2

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