Regensburg 2013 – scientific programme
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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik
O 76: Focussed Session: Solid-liquid Interfaces II
O 76.3: Talk
Thursday, March 14, 2013, 16:45–17:00, H31
Pt based PEMFC catalysts from colloidal particle suspensions - a toolbox for model studies — •Jozsef Speder1, Lena Altmann2, Marcus Bäumer2, Jacob Kirkensgaard1, Kell Mortensen1, and Matthias Arenz1 — 1University of Copenhagen — 2University of Bremen
Polymer membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) represent a key technology for clean, efficient and sustainable energy conversion. One of the main problems in PEMFCs, however, is the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The objective of our work is to prepare and study model catalysts that can help to understand and thereby improve the existing commercially available electrocatalysts. A typical PEMFC catalyst consists of high surface area carbon supported Pt or Pt-alloy nanoparticles. Previous studies report sometimes with contradicting conclusions on the influence of the support, particle size and composition on the ORR activity. In general however, these studies do not selectively change only one of the variables, for example the Pt loading, while leaving the others constant, e.g. the particle size. In our work we introduce a reliable, artefact-free method for studying these effects by synthesising carbon supported, Pt based catalysts from colloidal dispersions of well defined Pt NPs synthesized by an ethylene glycol method. We demonstrate that this preparation method enables a controlled synthesis of model catalysts where individual parameters such as support material and Pt loading can be tuned without changing other parameters. Thus for example the role of support material, Pt loading etc. can be investigated separated from each other.