Application of N-doped carbon nanotube-supported Pt-Ru as electrocatalyst layer in passive direct methanol fuel cell

• Published in: International journal of hydrogen energy 2020-09, Vol.45 (46), p.25307-25316
• Main Authors: Forootan Fard, Habib, Khodaverdi, Mohammadmahdi, Pourfayaz, Fathollah, Ahmadi, Mohammad H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC); Methanol oxidation reaction (MOR); Nitrogen-doped CNT; PtRu nanoparticles
• ISSN: 0360-3199; 1879-3487
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.06.254

In this research, nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNT) were prepared through the low-temperature thermal method and used as the support material for the bimetallic catalyst PtRu and Pt nanoparticles. A passive single-cell direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) was designed and fabricated to investigate and compare the performance of three discrete membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) with carbon black (CB), CNT, and N-CNT as the catalyst support, respectively. Adding N to the structure of CNTs remarkably improves the physical and electrochemical characteristics of the catalyst. More active sites and stronger interaction between support and metal particles lead to the formation of smaller metal clusters and higher surface area as well as superior electrochemical activity. Compared to PtRu/CB and PtRu/CNT, PtRu/N-CNT illustrate 32% and 12% higher surface area, 3 and 1.9 times higher MOR activity, and 62% and 18% higher power output (26.1 mW/cm2), respectively. Moreover, it is revealed that PtRu/N-CNT has long-term stability in the MOR. The research work presented in this paper exhibits the outstanding performance of Pt and PtRu supported on N-CNT in a passive single-cell DMFC. •A low-temperature thermal method was used to prepare nitrogen-doped CNTs.•The N-CNTs were used as catalyst supports for the PtRu & Pt nanoparticles in a DMFC.•The performances of various electrocatalysts were compared together.•Results exhibit the outstanding performance of N-CNT supported catalyst in DMFC.