Influence of ionomer on the durability of Pt/C catalyst

Ionomer is an important part of the catalytic layer in proton exchange membrane fuel cell. Its main role is to conduct protons. We investigated the effect of ionomer on the durability of Pt/C catalyst using rotating disk electrode (RDE) under two modes: the real operating conditions (mode 1) and startup/shutdown conditions (mode 2). The structural changes of Pt/C catalyst after the durability test were analyzed by identical location transmission electron microscopy (IL-TEM). Results show that the addition of ionomer improved the durability of Pt/C catalysts. After the durability test of mode 1, the addition of ionomer reduced the change of half-wave potential (∆E_1/2) of oxygen reduction reaction from 23 to 11 mV, which is attributed to the growth of Pt particles rather than carbon corrosion. Ionomer delayed the decrease of electrochemical specific surface area (ECSA) of Pt/C catalyst, which is beneficial to the maintenance of Pt activity. After the durability test of mode 2, in addition to the growth of platinum particles, carbon corrosion occurred in the catalyst layer, and the growth of platinum particles was mainly due to carbon corrosion. The addition of ionomer reduced the ∆E_1/2 of oxygen reduction reaction from 25 to 5 mV. Furthermore, the growth of platinum particles and carbon corrosion can be clearly seen by IL-TEM, and the corrosion of the carbon support resulted in the loss and agglomeration of platinum. The average particle size of platinum in Nafion-containing catalyst increased from 2.7 to 3.76 nm, while that of Nafion-free catalyst increased from 2.44 nm to 4.19 nm.