2023-07-25 ペンシルベニア州立大学(PennState)
◆この技術はプラチナ族金属の使用量を削減し、燃料電池の製造コストを低減することが期待されています。また、燃料電池電気車の販売促進にも寄与する可能性があります。これにより、より環境に優しい交通手段が実現するかもしれません。
＜関連情報＞
- https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/new-approach-fuel-cell-manufacturing-could-reduce-cost-increase-availability/
- https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacsau.3c00277
調整可能なナノ構造形態を持つ拡張表面薄膜白金電極触媒 Extended-Surface Thin-Film Platinum Electrocatalysts with Tunable Nanostructured Morphologies
Deepra Bhattacharya, Ke Wang, Guang-Peng Wu, and Christopher Arges
JACS Au Published:July 24, 2023
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/jacsau.3c00277
Abstract
Reducing platinum group metal (PGM) loadings in fuel cells and electrolyzers is paramount for cost reductions and getting hydrogen to scale to help decarbonize the global economy. Conventional PGM nanoparticle-based ink-cast electrocatalysts lose performance at high current densities owing to mass transport resistances that arise due to the use of ionomer binders. Herein, we report the development of binder-free extended-surface thin-film platinum electrocatalysts with tunable nanoscale morphology and periodic spacing. The electrocatalysts are prepared by sputtering various loadings of platinum on Al2O3 nanostructures templated from self-assembled block copolymer (BCP) thin films on glassy carbon substrates. Testing for oxygen reduction on a rotating disk electrode setup with ultralow PGM loadings (5.8 μgPt cm–2) demonstrates electrocatalyst performance that rivals commercial platinum electrocatalysts in terms of mass activity (380 mA mgPt–1 at 0.9 V vs RHE) while surpassing commercial catalysts in terms of stability (mass activity loss: 11–13% after 20,000 potential cycles). Moreover, catalyst performance probed as a function of nanoscale feature size and morphology reveals an inverse correlation between feature size and electroactivity, as well as the superiority of cylindrical morphologies over lamellae, presenting BCP templating as a fabrication pathway toward stable, tunable catalyst geometries.
