Influence of Pt and CeO2 interaction in Pt-CeO2 electrode on anode and cathode performance for fuel cell applications

Abstract

A Pt on nano-size Ce0 2 particles which in turn are supported on carbon black (CB) was synthesized using eo-impregnation method. The pure Ce0 2 was synthesized using an ammonium carbonate precipitation method. The electrochemical activities of methanol oxidation reaction and oxygen reduction reaction on the Pt-Ce0 2 composite electrode were investigated using cycle voltammetry and hydrodynamic voltammetry experimentation. It was found that the anode performance on Pt-Ce0 2 composite electrode for methanol oxidation reaction was superior to that on the commercially available Pt-Ru alloy electrode. In addition, the cathode performance on composite electrode for oxygen reduction reaction was higher than that on the commercially available Pt electrode. Based on SPring-S XPS observation, we conclude that a change of 5d-electron density on Pt induced by an interaction between Pt and Ce0 2 plays a key role for improvement of the performance on Pt-Ce0 2 composite electrodes. It is expected that the anode and cathode performance on Pt-Ce0 2 composites will be maximized by a design of interface between Pt and Ce0 2 on the surface of electrodes.