The commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cells is hampered by the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction and the high cost of platinum. Herein, we present a rapid method for synthesizing nitrogen-doped carbon-supported low-platinum ternary PtCuFe alloy catalysts in a rotating packed bed (PtCuFe/NC-RPB), and systematically compare them with the corresponding sample prepared in a stirred tank reactor (PtCuFe/NC-STR) as well as a commercial Pt/C catalyst. The resulting PtCuFe/NC-RPB catalyst comprises uniformly sized (2-3 nm) nanoparticles that are well dispersed on the carbon support. In 0.1 M HClO 4 solution, the PtCuFe/NC-RPB catalyst exhibits an electrochemically active surface area of 79.1 m 2 ·g Pt -1 and a half‑wave potential of 0.93 V. Its mass activity at 0.90 V is 0.77 A·mg Pt -1 , which is higher than that of PtCuFe/NC-STR and about 6 times that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst. After 10,000 cycles of accelerated durability testing, PtCuFe/NC-RPB shows less degradation than both PtCuFe/NC-STR and commercial Pt/C. After 50,000 cycles, its degradation level is lower than that of PtCuFe/NC-STR and comparable to that of commercial Pt/C after 10,000 cycles. In H 2 -O 2 single‑cell tests, the cathode based on the RPB‑synthesized catalyst delivers a slightly higher open‑circuit voltage and a comparable current density at 0.8 V relative to commercial Pt/C. As the back pressure increases from 0 to 150 kPa gauge , the peak power density rises from 1.01 to 1.61 W·cm -2 , reaching 80-90% of the value achieved with commercial Pt/C. These results indicate that the high‑gravity rotating packed bed as an effective strategy for producing high‑performance, durable low‑platinum fuel cell catalysts. • PtCuFe alloy catalyst with size of 2-3 nm was prepared using a rotating packed bed. • Half wave potential of the catalyst reached 0.93 V. • Mass activity of the catalyst was 6 times that of commercial Pt/C catalyst. • Mass activity of the catalyst lost 8.85% after 10,000 cycles in durability test. • PEMFC assembled with the catalyst delivered a peak power density of 1.61 W·cm -2 .
Sun et al. (Fri,) studied this question.