Experimental study of characteristics of bimetallic Pt-Fe nano-particle fuel cell electrocatalyst

Yao, Jun; Yao, Yufeng

Abstract

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. The characteristics of 1.5wt% Platinum (Pt) loading on Fe incorporated Y zeolite (Pt-Fe/Y zeolite) nano-electrocatalysts have been experimentally studied by the extended X-ray adsorption fine structure (EXAFS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) techniques using Nafionat bound electrode to determine Pt electrocatalytic performance in direct methanol fuel cell. The Pt particle size was found to be small in electrochemical environment (0.7nm with 55 atoms). Study implies that the Pt electrocatalytic performance can be affected by the Pt cluster electron deficiency, due to the change of Pt particle size associated with the lattice strain energy. The CV measurement in the hydride region indicated higher Pt dispersion for Pt-Fe/Y zeolite electrocatalyst chemically reduced in H2 at 400°C (15PtFeancr4), compared to that of Pt/Y zeolite reduced at 400°C (15Ptancr4) and Pt-Fe/Y zeolite electrocatalysts reduced at 300°C (15PtFeancr3), respectively. This provided further implication that the chemical reduction temperature would be important for achieving a higher Pt dispersion. The present study has revealed two possible electron transfer pathways that might contribute to the Pt electronic conduction: (1) the surface mobility of adsorbed species; (2) the hydrogen atoms/H+ ion spillover through the zeolite framework and on the electrode surface, despite the DC insulator nature of zeolite.

Citation

Yao, J., & Yao, Y. (2015). Experimental study of characteristics of bimetallic Pt-Fe nano-particle fuel cell electrocatalyst. Renewable Energy, 81, 182-196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2015.03.031

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 11, 2015
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Apr 14, 2015
• Journal: Renewable Energy
• Print ISSN: 0960-1481
• Electronic ISSN: 1879-0682
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 81
• Pages: 182-196
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2015.03.031
• Keywords: bimetallic nano-particle fuel cell, Pt–Fe, electrocatalytic performance, bonding distance, extended x-ray adsorption fine structure, cyclic voltammetry
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/829609
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2015.03.031
• Additional Information: Additional Information : NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Renewable Energy. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Renewable Energy, [81, (September 2015)] DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2015.03.031