Promoting the Oxygen Reduction Reaction with Intermetallic and Skeletal Nanostructures

Abstract

Development of highly active and durable electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is of pivotal importance for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEMFCs). In this talk, we present our efforts toward enhancing the performances of Pt-based catalysts for the ORR with intermetallic nanostrucutres. We prepared self-supported, Pt-based intermetallic (Pt–M; M=Ni, Co, Fe, Cu) nanocatalysts, based on nanoporous and nanowire structures, as highly active and durable ORR catalysts. Nanostructured Pt–M intermetallic nanocatalysts showed enhanced ORR activity, compared to Pt black, Pt/C, and alloy Pt–M catalysts, and demonstrated excellent durability for the ORR. Some of Pt–M intermetallic nanocatalysts showed PEMFC single cell performances with very high durability. We also briefly show the enhancement of ORR activity with skeletal Pt-based nanostructures that have increased number of catalytically active surfaces.