Affiliation:
1. School of Materials Science and Engineering Anhui University Hefei Anhui 230601 P. R. China
2. Institute of Energy Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center Hefei Anhui 230031 P. R. China
3. Key Laboratory of Precision and Intelligent Chemistry University of Science and Technology of China Hefei Anhui 230026 China
Abstract
AbstractPlatinum (Pt) supported on high surface area carbon has been the most widely used electrocatalyst in proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). However, conventional carbon supports are susceptible to corrosion at high potentials, leading to severe degradation of electrochemical performance. In this work, titanium carbonitride embedded in mesoporous carbon nanofibers (m‐TiCN NFs) are reported as a promising alternative to address this issue. Benefiting from the interpenetrating conductive pathways inside the one‐dimensional (1D) nanostructures and the embedded TiCN nanoparticles (NPs), m‐TiCN NFs exhibit excellent stability at high potentials and interact strongly with Pt NPs. Subsequently, m‐TiCN NFs‐supported Pt NPs deliver remarkably enhanced oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity and durability, with negligible activity decay and less than 5% loss of electrochemical surface area(ECSA) after 50 000 cycles. Moreover, the fuel cell assembled by this catalyst delivers a maximum power density of 1.22 W cm−2 and merely 3% loss after 30 000 cycles of accelerated durability tests under U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) protocols. The improved ORR activity and durability are attributed to the superior corrosion resistance of the m‐TiCN NF support and the strong interaction between Pt and m‐TiCN NFs.
Funder
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Institute of Energy, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center