Plasma deposited Pt-containing hydrocarbon thin films as electrocatalysts for PEM fuel cell

High performance electrocatalytic hydrocarbon thin films containing Pt nano-clusters are deposited by simultaneous plasma polymerization of ethylene and sputtering of a Pt target. The proposed synthetic approach largely simplifies the PEMFC electrocatalyst fabrication process with respect to convent...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of materials chemistry 2010-12, Vol.2 (45), p.1224-1227
Main Authors: Dilonardo, Elena, Milella, Antonella, Palumbo, Fabio, Thery, Jessica, Martin, Steve, Barucca, Gianni, Mengucci, Paolo, d'Agostino, Riccardo, Fracassi, Francesco
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Density
Deposition
Electrocatalysts
Hydrocarbons
Nanocomposites
Nanomaterials
Nanostructure
Platinum
Thin films
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Summary:High performance electrocatalytic hydrocarbon thin films containing Pt nano-clusters are deposited by simultaneous plasma polymerization of ethylene and sputtering of a Pt target. The proposed synthetic approach largely simplifies the PEMFC electrocatalyst fabrication process with respect to conventional methods. The deposition of the hydrocarbon matrix provides the mechanical support and electronic continuity, ensuring a uniform metal dispersion, avoiding Pt nanoparticle agglomeration. The Pt catalyst is dispersed as small vertically stacked clusters with size less than 10 nm in columnar thin (250-500 nm) films. PEMFC testing with plasma deposited 500 nm thick film and 0.513 mg cm −2 Pt load as anodic electrocatalyst led to a maximum reproducible power density as high as 300 mW cm −2 . A new approach consisting of a single-step plasma process is proposed to deposit Pt-containing hydrocarbon thin films as PEMFC electrocatalysts.
ISSN:0959-9428
1364-5501
DOI:10.1039/c0jm01300e