Carbon/platinum nanotextured films produced by plasma sputtering

Abstract

Platinum loaded carbon layers were synthesized by a two-step plasma sputtering process. 200 nm thick columnar (columns with an average diameter of 20 nm) carbon films having a large open porosity were formed in the first step. Using the same plasma system, the films were subsequently loaded with platinum. SEM, TEM and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry analysis show that platinum diffuses into the carbon layer and forms nano-sized particles (mean diameter ca. 3 nm) along and around the carbon nanocolumns and down to the film/support interface. Optimized catalytic layers were formed at low plasma pressure operation (<1 Pa) and had an upper platinum loading limit of about 0.1 mg.cm -2 .

Preparation, testing and modeling of three-dimensionally ordered catalytic layers for electrocatalysis of fuel cell reactions

“…The results of this study indicate that for a fast (quasi)reversible electrochemical reaction such as the HOR, the best performance is provided by an ultra thin quasi two-dimensional catalytic layer. This is in agreement with the conclusions made by Gasteiger et al [4] who found that the Pt loading on the anode side of a PEMFC operating on pure H 2 can be reduced to 0.05 mg Pt cm −2 without a voltage penalty (also see [56] describing ultra thin layers prepared by direct sputtering deposition of Pt on a membrane). Note, that in the present work we do not aim at establishing the optimum Pt loading but are rather interested in the influence of the Pt loading and on the Pt distribution in the catalytic layer on the rates of the electrochemical reactions.…”

Structural Evolution of Plasma-Sputtered Core–Shell Nanoparticles for Catalytic Combustion of Methane

“…Recently, plasma sputtering deposition has been studied extensively because the technique is feasible and no post-treatment is needed 14,15 . Considerable studies are devoted to preparation of bimetallic nanoparticles, suggesting that the plasma sputtering deposition has obvious advantages in controlling the composition of bimetallic nanoparticles [16][17][18] .…”

Advanced catalytic layer architectures for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

“…Another important feature of such catalysts is the depth of the Pt concentration profile in the electrode, which can be controlled by adjusting the deposition parameters and the plasma source. These techniques offer organized thin film structures composed of regular arrays of several hundreds of nm carbon pillars covered by Pt . Similar to the case of NSTFs, sputtered catalytic layers may be employed without Nafion ® ionomer.…”