Suppression of Catalyst Layer Detachment by Interfacial Microstructural Modulation of the NiCo2O4/Ni Oxygen Evolution Electrode for Renewable Energy-Powered Alkaline Water Electrolysis.

Alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) is a large-scale hydrogen production technology. A major degradation mode of AWE when using fluctuating power derived from renewable energies is the detachment of the catalyst layer (CL). Here, this study investigates the CL detachment mechanism of NiCo2O4-CL-coated Ni (NCO/Ni) electrodes under an accelerated durability test (ADT) simulating a fluctuating power and the effect of post-annealing on detachment behavior. Microstructural analysis reveals that detachment begins at the nanoscale gaps between the stacked CLs and between CL and the substrate. Post-annealing at 400 °C removes the degradation starting point in CL, and a composition gradient Co-doped NiO interlayer and NiO(111)/Ni(111) epitaxial interface form between CL and the Ni substrate, nearly suppressing CL detachment. Although the electrode performance of the annealed sample is initially lower than that of the as-prepared sample, the overpotential is significantly reduced during ADT due to the formation of the NiCo hydroxide active surface layer. These results demonstrate that interfacial microstructural modulation by post-annealing is a powerful approach to realizing durable electrodes for green hydrogen production by renewable energy-powered AWE.

Surface-Regulated Nano-SnO2/Pt3Co/C Cathode Catalysts for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells Fabricated by a Selective Electrochemical Sn Deposition Method.

We have achieved significant improvements for the oxygen reduction reaction activity and durability with new SnO2-nanoislands/Pt3Co/C catalysts in 0.1 M HClO4, which were regulated by a strategic fabrication using a new selective electrochemical Sn deposition method. The nano-SnO2/Pt3Co/C catalysts with Pt/Sn = 4/1, 9/1, 11/1, and 15/1 were characterized by STEM-EDS, XRD, XRF, XPS, in situ XAFS, and electrochemical measurements to have a Pt3Co core/Pt skeleton-skin structure decorated with SnO2 nanoislands at the compressive Pt surface with the defects and dislocations. The high performances of nano-SnO2/Pt3Co/C originate from efficient electronic modification of the Pt skin surface (site 1) by both the Co of the Pt3Co core and surface nano-SnO2 and more from the unique property of the periphery sites of the SnO2 nanoislands at the compressive Pt skeleton-skin surface (more active site 2), which were much more active than expected from the d-band center values. The white line peak intensity of the nano-SnO2/Pt3Co/C revealed no hysteresis in the potential up-down operations between 0.4 and 1.0 V versus RHE, unlike the cases of Pt/C and Pt3Co/C, resulting in the high ORR performance. Here we report development of a new class of cathode catalysts with two different active sites for next-generation polymer electrolyte fuel cells.

Same-View Nano-XAFS/STEM-EDS Imagings of Pt Chemical Species in Pt/C Cathode Catalyst Layers of a Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell.

We have made the first success in the same-view imagings of 2D nano-XAFS and TEM/STEM-EDS under a humid N2 atmosphere for Pt/C cathode catalyst layers in membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) with Nafion membrane to examine the degradation of Pt/C cathodes by anode gas exchange cycles (start-up/shut-down simulations of PEFC vehicles). The same-view imaging under the humid N2 atmosphere provided unprecedented spatial information on the distribution of Pt nanoparticles and oxidation states in the Pt/C cathode catalyst layer as well as Nafion ionomer-filled nanoholes of carbon support in the wet MEA, which evidence the origin of the formation of Pt oxidation species and isolated Pt nanoparticles in the nanohole areas of the cathode layer with different Pt/ionomer ratios, relevant to the degradation of PEFC catalysts.

Mapping platinum species in polymer electrolyte fuel cells by spatially resolved XAFS techniques.

There is limited information on the mechanism for platinum oxidation and dissolution in Pt/C cathode catalyst layers of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) under the operating conditions though these issues should be uncovered for the development of next-generation PEFCs. Pt species in Pt/C cathode catalyst layers are mapped by a XAFS (X-ray absorption fine structure) method and by a quick-XAFS(QXAFS) method. Information on the site-preferential oxidation and leaching of Pt cathode nanoparticles around the cathode boundary and the micro-crack in degraded PEFCs is provided, which is relevant to the origin and mechanism of PEFC degradation.

Performance and durability of Pt/C cathode catalysts with different kinds of carbons for polymer electrolyte fuel cells characterized by electrochemical and in situ XAFS techniques.

The electrochemical activity and durability of Pt nanoparticles on different kinds of carbon supports in oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) were investigated using rotating disc electrodes (RDE) and the membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC). The mass activity of Pt/C catalysts (ORR activity per 1 mg of Pt) at the RDE decreased, according to the type of carbon support, in the following order; Ketjenblack (KB) > acetylene black (AB) > graphene > multiwall carbon nanotube (MW-CNT) > carbon black (CB), whereas the average size of the Pt nanoparticles and the surface specific activity (ORR activity per electrochemical surface area) did not vary significantly between these carbon supports. These results indicate that the different mass activities of the Pt/C catalysts may originate from the differences in the fraction of Pt on the carbon supports which is available for utilization. The durability of the MEAs of the top two active catalysts Pt/KB and Pt/AB among the five catalysts was examined based on ORR performance, TEM and in situ XAFS. It was found that the performance of the Pt/KB cathode catalyst in PEFC MEA decreased significantly over 500 accelerated durability test (ADT) cycles, whereas the performance of the Pt/AB cathode catalyst in PEFC MEA did not decrease significantly during 500 ADT cycles, it was also found that the Pt/AB possesses 8 times higher durability compared with the Pt/KB. In situ Pt LIII-edge XAFS data in the ADT cycles and stepwise potential operations revealed the different oxidation-reduction behaviors of the Pt nanoparticles on the KB and AB supports. The Pt/KB was oxidized to form surface PtO layers more easily than the Pt/AB in the increasing potential operation from 0.4 VRHE to 1.4 VRHE, and the surface PtO layers of the Pt/AB were reduced to the metallic Pt state more readily than those of the Pt/KB in the decreasing potential operation from 1.4 VRHE to 0.4 VRHE. The XAFS analysis for the Pt valences and the coordination numbers of Pt-O and Pt-Pt demonstrated that the Pt/AB catalyst is more durable than the Pt/KB catalyst in PEFC MEAs.

Structural kinetics of a Pt/C cathode catalyst with practical catalyst loading in an MEA for PEFC operating conditions studied by in situ time-resolved XAFS.

The structural kinetics of surface events on a Pt/C cathode catalyst in a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) with a practical catalyst loading (0.5 mgPt cm(-2)) for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell were investigated by in situ time-resolved X-ray absorption fine structure analysis (XAFS; time resolution: 100 ms) for the first time. The rate constants of structural changes in the Pt/C cathode catalyst in the MEA during voltage cycling were successfully estimated. For voltage-cycling processes, all reactions (electrochemical reactions and structural changes in the Pt catalyst) in the MEA were found to be much faster than those in an MEA with a thick cathode catalyst layer, but the in situ time-resolved XAFS analysis revealed that significant time lags similarly existed between the electrochemical reactions and the structural changes in the Pt cathode catalyst. The time-resolved XAFS also revealed differences in the structural kinetics of the Pt/C cathode catalyst for the voltage-cycling processes under N2 and air flows at the cathode.

Performance and characterization of a Pt-Sn(oxidized)/C cathode catalyst with a SnO2-decorated Pt3Sn nanostructure for oxygen reduction reaction in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell.

We have prepared and characterized a SnO2-decorated Pt-Sn(oxidized)/C cathode catalyst in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC). Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performance of Pt/C (TEC10E50E) remained almost unchanged or even tended to reduce in repeated I-V load cycles, whereas the I-V load performance of the Pt-Sn(oxidized)/C prepared by controlled oxidation of a Pt-Sn alloy/C sample with the Pt3Sn phase revealed a significant increase with increasing I-V load cycles. The unique increase in the ORR performance of the Pt-Sn(oxidized)/C catalyst was ascribed to a promoting effect of SnO2 nano-islands formed on the surface of Pt3Sn core nanoparticles. Also in a rotating disk electrode (RDE) setup, the mass activity of an oxidized Pt3Sn/C catalyst was initially much lower than that of a Pt/C catalyst, but it increased remarkably after 5000 rectangular durability cycles and became higher than that of the fresh Pt/C. The maximum power density per electrochemical surface area for the Pt-Sn(oxidized)/C catalyst in a PEFC was about 5 times higher than that for the Pt/C catalyst at 0.1-0.8 A cm(-2) of the current density. In situ X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) analysis at the Pt LIII-edge in increasing/decreasing potential operations and at the Sn K-edge in the I-V load cycles revealed a remarkable suppression of Pt oxidation compared with the Pt/C catalyst at higher potentials and no change in the Sn oxidation state, respectively, resulting in higher performance and stability of the Pt-Sn(oxidized)/C catalyst due to the SnO2 nano-islands under the PEFC operation conditions. The SnO2 nano-island decorated Pt-Sn(oxidized)/C catalyst with a Pt3Sn alloy nanostructure is regarded as a promising candidate for a PEFC cathode catalyst.