Nitrogen-doped, hollow carbon spheres supporting Pt nanoparticles as Fuel Cell Catalysts.

With the use of nitrogen-doped hollow carbon spheres supporting the Pt nanoparticles(Pt/HCS), we have produced a catalyst with high electrochemical surface area and high mass activity. Initial characterisation and testing have shown the catalyst is able to resist support corrosion and reduces Pt agglomeration. After 6000 potential cycles mimicking a PEMFC cathode compartment, the catalyst retained higher electrochemical surface area compared to the commercial Johnson Matthey 40 wt% Pt catalyst. Small Pt particles were formed with deposition on the outside of the shell and inside the pores of the shell. The new catalysts demonstrate high activity (>380 μA cm−2 and 240 mA g−1) surpassing the commercial Pt/C by more than 10%. The catalysts demonstrate excellent durability compared to a commercial Pt/C in load cycling, experiencing less than 50% changes in the mass-specific activity (MA) and surface area-specific activity (SA).