Nitrogen-Doped Intermetallic PtCo Catalyst with Multilayered Pt-Skin Surfaces for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

• Published in: Industrial & engineering chemistry research 2024-08, Vol.63 (34), p.15051-15060
• Main Authors: Zhou, Ji, Liu, Chen, Liao, Yifei, Xia, Guanghui, Huang, Qin, Huang, Yisha, Yan, Yigang, Wu, Chaoling, Wang, Yao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Kinetics, Catalysis, and Reaction Engineering
• ISSN: 0888-5885; 1520-5045
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.4c01714

Catalysts with a platinum-rich shell and intermetallic core are considered to be one of the most promising catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in fuel cells. However, too thin of a platinum-rich shell makes the core–shell structure easy to lose. Therefore, the development of the core–shell structure with an appropriate thickness of platinum-rich shell and intermetallic core remains a huge challenge in the field of fuel cells. In this paper, PtCoN-1000/C catalyst with about 1 nm thick platinum-rich shell shows significantly enhanced ORR activity and stability in acidic electrolyte, which is superior to L10-PtCo/C and commercial Pt/C catalysts. The specific power at 0.8 V and mass activity at 0.9 V are 5.60 W mgPt –1 and 0.74 A mgPt –1, respectively. It suggests that the tensile strain and moderately thickened platinum-rich shell led by nitrogen doping can greatly improve the performance of the catalyst.