Enhanced Stability of PtRu Supported on N-Doped Carbon for the Anode of a DMFC
Abstract
The performance and long-term stability of a direct-methanol fuel cell (DMFC) employing PtRu supported on nitrogen-modified carbon is compared with that of PtRu/C (Hi-spec 5000). The long-term stability test is carried by means of accelerated degradation testing (ADT) at an anodic potential of 0.8 V vs. DHE for 640h. The initial DMFC performance of the MEA containing PtRu/C (N-doped) is slightly lower than that of the PtRu/C (Hi-SPEC) because of the lower ECSA of the former. After 640h ADT, the anode ECSA loss is found to be 21% and 26% for the PtRu/C (N-doped) and PtRu/C (Hi-SPEC), respectively. Electrochemical analyzes reveal that cathode of the MEA with PtRu/C (N-doped) is less contaminated with Ru. It is further corroborated by post-mortem analysis done by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) associated with EDS, which indicates 4.8 and 8.2 at.% Ru accumulation, respectively, in the cathodes of the PtRu/C (N-doped) and PtRu/C (Hi-SPEC) MEAs after 640h ADT. Although both MEAs sustain anode and cathode ECSA losses, the performance for the PtRu/C (N-doped) MEA is improved by 28% and 8% after initial and long-term ADT, while the performance for the PtRu/C (Hi-SPEC) MEA is improved by 20% after initial and decreased by 3% after long-term ADT.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 18, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA591284
Entities
People
- April Corpuz
- Arrelaine Dameron
- Guido Bender
- Huyen N. Dinh
- Katherine Hurst
- Kevin O’neill
- Prabhuram Joghee
- R. Kevin Wood
- Svitlana Pylypenko
- Tim Olson
Organizations
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory