in the range of 0.2-0.4 mg cm −2 [3] as well as a thick catalyst layer (CL) of 5-10 µm at cathode, [4] which brings in a sinuous and lengthy pathway and thus jeopardizing the mass transfer of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR).Aimed to reduce the thickness and the Pt loading of the cathodic catalyst layer in CCMs while maintaining or improving the activity, much endeavor has been devoted to the investigation of CCMs with ordered or thin CLs. Middelman et al. first proposed an ordered CL model comprised of thin ionomer film covering Pt nanoparticles supported on electronic conductor arrays, perpendicular to membrane. [5] Such an ordered CL is expected to intensify the mass transfer of proton, electron, and gas, as well as water. To date, carbon nanotube arrays, [6] TiO 2 -based arrays, [7] Ptbased arrays, [8] Nafion arrays, [9] and conductive polymer nanowire arrays [10] have been employed to fabricate ordered CLs. Significant progress has been achieved in previous studies, yet researchers still confront the dilemma of thick CLs (most ≈2 µm), complicated fabrication route, and the loss of structural ordering during decal or hot-pressing process.In parallel, Debe and his coworkers pioneered nanostructured thin-film (NSTF) CLs with a typical thickness of about 250 nm and a Pt loading of 100 µg cm −2 by sputtering Pt or Pt alloy nanoparticles on organic whisker arrays. [11] Qi and coworkers recently reported interesting Pt nanotrough thin CLs with a thickness of about 300 nm and a Pt loading of 42 µg cm −2 at cathode. [12] We previously developed a photo-driven approach to fabricate CCMs composed of a monolayer of dendritic Pt spherical crowns on membrane with a thickness of 59 nm at a cathodic Pt loading of 53 µg cm −2 . [13] Ostroverkh et al. prepared thin-film Pt catalysts with ultra-low metal loadings ranging from 1 to 200 µg cm −2 by magnetron sputtering onto carbon-based substrates. [14] Overall, thin CCMs have all successfully omitted additive ionomer and the poisoning of the CLs, and exhibit a high mass peak power density in the range of 10.4-22.4 W mg Pt,Cathode−1 even at a low electrochemically specific area (ECSA) value of 5.1-12.9 m 2 g Pt −1. It is clear that thin CCMs represent a highly promising new research direction.In this study, we develop a simple proton-initiated fabrication approach for the preparation of thin CCMs with a high ECSA to further improve the utilization of Pt. Rice spike-like Pd Catalyst coated membrane (CCM) is the core component of proton exchange membrane fuel cells and is routinely fabricated by spraying Pt/C slurries onto membrane, resulting in low activity and thick catalyst layer (CL, 5-10 µm) with an unaffordable Pt loading of 0.2-0.4 mg cm −2 and a large mass transfer resistance at cathode. Highly active ultrathin ultralow-Pt CL (UUCL) is urgently required, but remains rare. Herein, wet-chemical direct growth of UUCLs on both sides of membrane to achieve integrated ultrathin ultralow-Pt catalyst coated membranes (UUCCMs) with a cathodic CL thickness of 79.7 ± 15.0 nm and a P...
Proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs) are capable of mass-producing green hydrogen with renewable and wave-trough electricity, but confront the challenge of the lack of advanced electrocatalysts to accelerate sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, we report the synthesis of ultrafine IrRu alloy nanoparticles (1.6 ± 0.3 nm) by coprecipitation of IrCl3, RuCl3, and HCOONa in water to allow Ir3+ and Ru3+ to be well dispersed and enclosed in the matrix of crystalline HCOONa, followed by heat treatment of HCOONa to reduce Ir3+ and Ru3+. Remarkably, the overpotential of IrRu toward acidic OER at 10 mA cm–2 is merely 230 and 194 mV at 51 and 204 μgIrRu cm–2, respectively. The high electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) of 577.1 m2 g–1 and high specific activity (SA) of 22.7 μA cm–2 at 1.45 V vs RHE would contribute to the exceptional OER activity. In addition, the electron transfer from Ir to Ru in IrRu should significantly boost the OER activity according to X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). IrRu also shows an excellent stability during 10 h of a chronopotentiometry (CP) test at 10 mA cm–2. Eventually, the high OER activity of IrRu was verified in a PEMWE.
Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells In article number 2207155, Huiyuan Liu, Yujiang Song, and co‐workers construct ultrathin ultralow‐Pt integrated catalyst coated membrane by proton‐initiated regioselective nucleation and growth of Pt/Pd catalyst layer on membrane. The highly active ultrathin catalyst layer greatly facilitates mass transfer and enhances the peak mass specific power density up to 59.9 W mgPt, Cathode−1 for proton exchange membrane fuel cell.
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