OXYGEN REDUCTION REACTION BEHAVIOURS OF CARBON NANOTUBES SUPPORTING Pt CATALYST FOR PROTON EXCHANGE MEMBRANE FUEL CELL

Abstract

Sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in cathode electrode is the most common problem in Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell systems. In this study, the ORR behaviours of a half-cell in the cathodic part were investigated which had an impact on its catalyst activity. The electrode was synthesized from multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) supported platinum (Pt) catalyst, assigned as MWCNT/Pt, using an impregnation method. In this case, the hexachloroplatinic acid (H 2 PtCl 6 .6H 2 O) acts as a Pt metal catalyst precursor. The PTFE (polytetrafloro-ethylene) was also used as sub-supporting material with MWCNT to produce MWCNT/PTFE composite. The Pt is deposited onto the surface of MWCNT/PTFE composite which forms MWCNT/PTFE/Pt electrode. Using CV and RRDE techniques, the electrochemical phenomena of MWCNT/Pt and MWCNT/PTFE/Pt electrodes in the 0.1 M KOH electrolyte solutions were analysed and compared. The electron transfer (n) from the K-L plot was recorded as 3.89 and 3.77 for MWCNT/Pt and MWCNT/PTFE/Pt electrode respectively. Based on the chronoamperometric analysis, the MWCNT/PTFE/Pt was found to be more stable than MWCNT/Pt. Therefore, the MWCNT/PTFE/Pt electrode may be recommended for PEM fuel cell application considering its electrochemical activity.

Recent Advances in the Development of Nanocarbon-Based Electrocatalytic/Electrode Materials for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: A Review

“…Acids and salts of metal precursors are most commonly used as precursors. Electrodes produced using this method exhibit greater stability as a result of the strong adhesion between the metal particles and the nanotubes [81,82].…”