Preparation of Pt/C catalyst for PEM fuel cells using polyol process

Polyol Process를 통한 PEM Fuel Cell용 Pt/C촉매 제조

Carbon-supported Platinum (Pt) is the potential electro-catalyst material for anodic and cathodic reactions in fuel cell. Catalytic activity of the metal strongly depends on the particle shape, size and distribution of the metal in the porous supportive network. Conventional preparation techniques based on wet impregnation and chemical reduction of the metal precursors often do not provide adequate control of particle size and shape. We have proposed a novel route for preparing nano sized Pt colloidal particles in solution by oxidation of ethylene glycol. These Pt nano particles were deposited on large surface area carbon support. The process of nano Pt colloid formation involves the oxidation of solvent ethylene glycol to mainly glycolic acid and the presence of its anion glycolate depends on the solution pH. In the process of colloidal Pt formation glycolate actsas stabilizer for the Pt colloidal particle and prevents the agglomeration of colloidal Pt particles. These mono disperse Pt particles in carbon support are found uniformly distributed in nearly spherical shape and the size distribution was narrow for both supported and unsupported metals. The average diameter of the Pt nano particle was controlled in the range off to 3 nm by optimizing reaction parameters. Transmission electron microscopy, CV and RRDE experiments were used to compliment the results.