Nitrogen-functionalized carbon-supported Pt catalysts implemented in high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

Pimperl N, Bevilacqua N, Schmid MA, Loichet Torres PA, El-Sayed HA, Zeis R, Zeyer KP (2021)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2021

Journal

Journal of Power Sources Elsevier

Book Volume: 507

Article Number: 229971

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2021.229971

Abstract

Nitrogen-modified carbon supports were investigated in the catalyst layer of a high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) with respect to fuel cell performance, kinetic, and transport-related voltage losses. Catalysts with different amounts of nitrogen functional groups (NHx) were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The interaction between the nitrogen-containing functional groups and the phosphate ions was investigated in RDE experiments. The experiments showed that in the case of the nitrogen-functionalized catalysts, the activity is reduced by a factor of up to 2 compared with a commercial Pt/C catalyst in 0.1 M HClO4 + 0.05 M H3PO4. The interaction was further confirmed by membrane electrode assembly (MEA) testing. Impedance spectra and distribution of relaxation times (DRT) analysis were used to pinpoint the voltage losses of the fuel cell. We show that a low amount of nitrogen-containing functional groups improves performance; this can be attributed to the improved phosphoric acid distribution in the catalyst layer. This method can successfully control the acid distribution but must be fine-tuned for extended cell operation.

Authors with CRIS profile

Roswitha Zeis

Involved external institutions

Technische Universität München (TUM) DE Germany (DE) Helmholtz Institut Ulm DE Germany (DE) Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung (ZSW) DE Germany (DE) Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften München DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Pimperl, N., Bevilacqua, N., Schmid, M.A., Loichet Torres, P.A., El-Sayed, H.A., Zeis, R., & Zeyer, K.P. (2021). Nitrogen-functionalized carbon-supported Pt catalysts implemented in high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. Journal of Power Sources, 507. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2021.229971

MLA:

Pimperl, Nicole, et al. "Nitrogen-functionalized carbon-supported Pt catalysts implemented in high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell." Journal of Power Sources 507 (2021).

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