CO Tolerance and Stability of Graphene and N-Doped Graphene Supported Pt Anode Electrocatalysts for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

Abstract

Pt electrocatalysts supported on pristine graphene nanosheets (GNS) and nitrogen-doped graphene nanoplatelets (N-GNP) were prepared through the ethylene glycol process, and a comparison of their CO tolerance and stability as anode materials in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) with those of the conventional carbon (C)-supported Pt was made. Repetitive potential cycling in a half cell showed that Pt/GNS catalysts have the highest stability, in terms of the highest sintering resistance (lowest particle growth) and the lowest electrochemically active surface area loss. By tests in PEMFCs, the Pt/N-GNP catalyst showed the highest CO tolerance, while the poisoning resistance of Pt/GNS was lower than that of Pt/C. The higher CO tolerance of Pt/N-GNP than that of Pt/GNS was ascribed to the presence of a defect in graphene, generated by N-doping, decreasing CO adsorption energy.