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Updated: Dec 10, 2025
Synthesis of Platinum-nickel Nanowires and Optimization for Oxygen Reduction Performance
Published on: April 27, 2018
Comparative Study of PtNi Nanowire Array Electrodes toward Oxygen Reduction Reaction by Half-Cell Measurement and
Peter Mardle1, Gnanavel Thirunavukkarasu2, Shaoliang Guan3,4
1School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, U.K.
Abstract:
A clear understanding of catalytic activity enhancement mechanisms in fuel cell operation is necessary for a full degree translation of the latest generation of non-Pt/C fuel cell electrocatalysts into high-performance electrodes in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). In this work, PtNi nanowire (NW) array gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) are fabricated from Pt NW arrays with Ni impregnation. A 2.84-fold improvement in the oxygen reduction reaction catalytic activity is observed for the PtNi NW array GDE (cf. the Pt NW array GDE) using half-cell GDE measurement in a 0.1 M HClO4 aqueous electrolyte at 25 °C, in comparison to only a 1.07-fold power density recorded in the PEMFC single-cell test. An ionomer is shown to significantly increase the electrochemically active surface area of the GDEs, but the PtNi NW array GDE suffers from Ni ion contamination at a high temperature, contributing to decreased catalytic activities and limited improvement in operating PEMFCs.
