作者
Theo AM Suter, Adam J Clancy, Noelia Rubio Carrero, Marie Heitzmann, Laure Guetaz, Paul R Shearing, Cecilia Mattevi, Gérard Gebel, Christopher A Howard, Milo SP Shaffer, Paul F McMillan, Dan JL Brett
发表日期
2021/10
期刊
Nanomaterials
卷号
11
期号
10
页码范围
2530
出版商
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
简介
Polymer electrolyte fuel cells hold great promise for a range of applications but require advances in durability for widespread commercial uptake. Corrosion of the carbon support is one of the main degradation pathways; hence, corrosion-resilient graphene has been widely suggested as an alternative to traditional carbon black. However, the performance of bulk graphene-based electrodes is typically lower than that of commercial carbon black due to their stacking effects. This article reports a simple, scalable and non-destructive method through which the pore structure and platinum utilisation of graphene-based membrane electrode assemblies can be significantly improved. Urea is incorporated into the catalyst ink before deposition, and is then simply removed from the catalyst layer after spraying by submerging the electrode in water. This additive hinders graphene restacking and increases porosity, resulting in a significant increase in Pt utilisation and current density. This technique does not require harsh template etching and it represents a pathway to significantly improve graphene-based electrodes by introducing hierarchical porosity using scalable liquid processes.
引用总数