High performance platinum single atom electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

Abstract

For the large-scale sustainable implementation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells in vehicles, high-performance electrocatalysts with low platinum consumption are desirable for use as cathode material during the oxygen reduction reaction in fuel cells. Here we report a carbon black-supported cost-effective, efficient and durable platinum single-atom electrocatalyst with carbon monoxide/methanol tolerance for the cathodic oxygen reduction reaction. The acidic single-cell with such a catalyst as cathode delivers high performance, with power density up to 680 mW cm−2 at 80 °C with a low platinum loading of 0.09 mgPt cm−2, corresponding to a platinum utilization of 0.13 gPt kW−1 in the fuel cell. Good fuel cell durability is also observed. Theoretical calculations reveal that the main effective sites on such platinum single-atom electrocatalysts are single-pyridinic-nitrogen-atom-anchored single-platinum-atom centres, which are tolerant to carbon monoxide/methanol, but highly active for the oxygen reduction reaction.

The Multifaceted Reactivity of Single‐Atom Heterogeneous Catalysts

“…[28,54,121] However,s urpassing the efficiencyo fP t/C is challenging since the reaction proceeds by a2e À pathway and produces less electricity than the alternative 4e À pathway.On the other hand, this presents an efficient route for the H 2 O 2 synthesis,i nw hich case higher selectivity is expected upon complete elimination of NPs and clusters.T he improved performance of aPt 1 /TiC catalyst than Pt 1 /TiN indicated that the support can strongly influence the performance. [28,54,121] However,s urpassing the efficiencyo fP t/C is challenging since the reaction proceeds by a2e À pathway and produces less electricity than the alternative 4e À pathway.On the other hand, this presents an efficient route for the H 2 O 2 synthesis,i nw hich case higher selectivity is expected upon complete elimination of NPs and clusters.T he improved performance of aPt 1 /TiC catalyst than Pt 1 /TiN indicated that the support can strongly influence the performance.…”

Engineering the Coordination Environment of Single‐Atom Platinum Anchored on Graphdiyne for Optimizing Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

“…8 To further investigate the electronic structure and coordination environments of single Pt atoms in Pt-GDY1 and Pt-GDY2, the Pt L 3 -edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray fine structure (EXAFS) were studied. [28] Furthermore,t he L 3 -edge white-line (WL) intensities increase in an order of Pt foil < Pt-GDY1 < Pt-GDY2 (inset in Figure 3c). [28] Furthermore,t he L 3 -edge white-line (WL) intensities increase in an order of Pt foil < Pt-GDY1 < Pt-GDY2 (inset in Figure 3c).…”

Palladium Dimer Supported on Mo2CO2(MXene) for Direct Methane to Methanol Conversion

“…[12,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Downsizing catalyst nanoparticles to single atoms could be desirable to enhance utilization efficiency of noble metal atoms. [24] Recently, single-atom catalysts (SACs) have been attracted increasingly as their high activity for a wide variety of chemical reactions, [24][25][26][27][28] such as oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) [27] and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). [24] However, it is still a great challenge to fabricate stable SACs as single atoms can easily migrate and agglomerate during preparation and catalytic process.…”

“…[24] Recently, single-atom catalysts (SACs) have been attracted increasingly as their high activity for a wide variety of chemical reactions, [24][25][26][27][28] such as oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) [27] and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). [24] However, it is still a great challenge to fabricate stable SACs as single atoms can easily migrate and agglomerate during preparation and catalytic process. [29] An appropriate substrate that interacts with single atom is possible to enhance the stability of SACs without severely impairing their activity and selectively.…”

“…[29] An appropriate substrate that interacts with single atom is possible to enhance the stability of SACs without severely impairing their activity and selectively. [24,26,27] Currently, a new family of 2D early transitionmetal carbides (MXenes) is synthesized by selectively etching an element from the MAX phases (M n+1 AX n , where n = 1 to 3, M is an early transition metal. [24,26,27] Currently, a new family of 2D early transitionmetal carbides (MXenes) is synthesized by selectively etching an element from the MAX phases (M n+1 AX n , where n = 1 to 3, M is an early transition metal.…”