Structurally ordered Pt₃Co for oxygen reduction reaction prepared using polyvinylpyrrolidone as auxiliary dispersant

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Developing efficient electrocatalysts is crucial for advancing fuel cell technology.
• Platinum-based catalysts are essential for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in fuel cells.
• Improving catalyst activity and durability while reducing platinum content is a key research goal.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize structurally ordered Pt₃Co/C nanoparticles using a spray drying method.
• To investigate the effect of polyvinylpyrrolidone on nanoparticle size distribution and dispersion.
• To evaluate the electrocatalytic performance and durability of the synthesized Pt₃Co/C nanoparticles for the oxygen reduction reaction.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of Pt₃Co/C nanoparticles via spray drying followed by annealing.
• Characterization of nanoparticle size, structure, and dispersion.
• Electrochemical testing of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity and durability using rotating disk electrode (RDE) voltammetry and accelerated durability tests (ADTs).

Main Results:

• Pt₃Co/C nanoparticles with an average size of approximately 4.6 nm and narrow size distribution were successfully synthesized.
• The Pt₃Co/C-600-1 catalyst exhibited a mass activity (MA) for ORR approximately 3 times higher than commercial Pt/C at 0.9 V.
• The Pt₃Co/C-600-1 catalyst demonstrated superior durability, with only a 17.5% loss in MA after 5000 cycles, compared to a 44.4% loss for Pt/C.

Conclusions:

• The spray drying method combined with annealing is an effective strategy for preparing highly dispersed, ordered Pt₃Co/C nanoparticles.
• The synthesized Pt₃Co/C nanoparticles show significantly enhanced ORR activity and stability compared to commercial Pt/C catalysts.
• This Pt₃Co/C catalyst presents a promising pathway for developing cost-effective and high-performance catalysts for industrial fuel cell applications.