Oxygen Reduction Kinetics on Electrodeposited Pt, Pt_(100-x)Ni_(x) and Pt_(100-x)Co_(x)

Published

December 10, 2008

Author(s)

Thomas P. Moffat, J Mallett, Sun M. Hwang

Abstract

The kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) on a series of electrodeposited Pt_(100-x)Ni_(x) and Pt_(100-x) Co_(x)alloy films were examined in comparison to electrodeposited Pt and mechanically-polished polycrystalline Pt. The alloys were electrodeposited at potentials positive of that required to grow the pure iron group metal. The growth process is ascribed to strong bonding enthalpy between Pt and the iron group metals that can be envisioned as iron-group underpotential deposition (upd) on Pt surface sites coupled with on going Pt overpotential electrodeposition. Rotating disk electrode (RDE) measurements of the ORR kinetics, normalized for the electroactive area, indicate a ~1.9 to 2.7 fold catalytic enhancement on Pt_(100-x)Co_(x) and Pt_(100-x)Ni_(x), when x is in the range of 25 to 35, as compared to electrodeposited Pt films grown under similar conditions. An even greater ORR enhancement factor, between 3 and 4.8, was noted for dealloyed transition metal-rich (x>75) films. Different schemes for integrating the electrodeposition (and dealloying) process into the fabrication of fuel cell membrane electrode array (MEA) are also briefly discussed.

Citation

Journal of the Electrochemical Society

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

electrocatalysts, fuel cells, oxygen reduction and Pt alloys

Citation

Moffat, T. , Mallett, J. and Hwang, S. (2008), Oxygen Reduction Kinetics on Electrodeposited Pt, Pt_(100-x)Ni_(x) and Pt_(100-x)Co_(x), Journal of the Electrochemical Society (Accessed October 10, 2024)