(544hf) Highly Durable Pt Fuel Cell Cathode Nanocatalysts Via Nitrogen, Manganese Co-Doped Carbon Derived from Polyaniline Hydrogel

Insufficient catalytic durability is one of the main challenges for the development of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM). Recent observations suggest that nitrogen-doped carbon can be a pretty promising candidate to be a strong and beneficial support to create stable and active Pt catalysts. Guided by this concept, this present work takes advantages of polyaniline (PANI) hydrogel, by introducing Manganese, to produce a highly durable carbon supported Pt catalysts showing high activity and stability for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in acidic media. For one thing, morphology derived from PANI hydrogel can help enhance Pt naonparticles dispersion and improve Pt utilization; for another, introduction of Mn plays a critical role to form high strong and durable carbon structure by increasing graphitization degree of the carbon structure. Less than 13% of carbon loss and 33% of activity loss after 5000 high-potential cycling in fuel cell, this N and Mn co-doped carbon supported Pt catalysts was demonstrated to be much more stable than the commercial Pt/C based on XC-72. Less aggregation of Pt nanoparticles was also observed, which may be due to unique carbon structure and the strong interaction between carbon and Pt nanoparticles. This new designed carbon material may provide some potential solutions to address challenged issues for development of PEM.