• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.12-18
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• 2012

The prohibitively high cost of Pt catalyst might be the biggest barrier for the commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) of which wide application is expected. Worldwide research efforts for the development of alternative to Pt oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst are made recently. One of the important considerations in the catalyst development is durability issue as well as economic aspect. From this point of view, platinum group metals (PGM) except Pt can be a candidate for replacing Pt catalyst because the material properties and the catalytic activity of PGM are expected to be similar to Pt. In contrast to Ir, Rh and Os to which not so much attention has been paid as an ORR catalyst, Pd that is most similar to Pt in terms of material properties and catalytic activity and Ru that is in the form of chalcogenide have been studied intensively. Activity comparison between non-Pt and Pt oxygen reduction catalysts by half cell test using RDE (rotating disk electrode) or PEMFC MEA (membrane electrode assembly) operation indicates that Pd-based catalysts show the most similar activity to Pt. In this paper we analyze the composition of PGM ORR catalyst in literature to promote the development of non-Pt ORR catalyst.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.95.2-95.2
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• 2011

In order to achieve high performance and low cost for commercial applications, the development of membrane electrode assemblies (MEA), in which the electrochemical reactions actually occur, must be optimized. Expensive platinum is currently used as an electrochemical catalyst due to its high activity. Although various platinum alloys and non-platinum catalysts are under development, their stabilities and catalytic activities, especially in terms of the oxygen reduction (ORR), render them currently unsuitable for practical use. Therefore, it is important to decrease platinum loading by optimizing the catalysts and electrode microstructure. In this study, we prepared several different MEAs (non-uniform Nafion$^{(R)}$ ionomer loading electrode) which have dual catalyst layers to find the optimal Nafion$^{(R)}$ ionomer distribution in the electrodes. We changed Nafion$^{(R)}$ ionomer content in the layers to find the ideal composition of the binder and Pt/C in the electrode. For MEAs with various ionomer contents in the anodes and cathodes, the electrochemical activity (activation overpotential) and the mass transport properties (concentration overpotential) were analyzed and correlated with the single cell performance. The dual catalyst layers MEA showed higher cell performance than uniformly fabricated MEA, especially at the high current density region.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.10 no.12
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• pp.831-837
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• 2000

To improve the catalytic activity of platinum on polymer electrolyte fuel cell(PEFC), platinum was alloyed with cobalt and nickel at various temperature. By XRD, it was observed the crystal structure of alloy catalysts were the ordered face centered cubic(f.c.c) due to the superlattice line at $33^{\circ}$. As heat-treatment temperature was increased, the particle size of alloys also were increased and the crystalline lattice parameters were decreased. According to the results from mass activity, specific activity and Tafel slope measured by cell performance test and cyclic voltammogram, the catalyst activities of alloys are higher than that pure platinum.

• Clean Technology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.371-379
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• 2018

The objective of this study is to develop a platinum/hexaaluminate pellet catalyst for the decomposition of eco-friendly liquid propellant. Pellet catalysts using hexaaluminate prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis as a support and platinum as an active metal were prepared by two methods. In the case of the pellet catalyst formed by loading the platinum precursor onto the hexaaluminate powder and then adding the binder (M1 method catalyst), the mesopores were well developed in the catalyst after calcination at $550^{\circ}C$. However, when this catalyst was calcined at $1,200^{\circ}C$, the mesopores almost collapsed and only a few macropores existed. On the other hand, in the case of a catalyst in which platinum was supported on pellets after the pellet was produced by extrusion of hexaaluminate (M2 method catalyst), the surface area and the mesopores were well maintained even after calcination at $1,200^{\circ}C$. Also, the catalyst prepared by the M2 method showed better heat resistance in terms of platinum dispersion. The effects of preparation method and calcination temperature of Pt/hexaaluminate pellet catalysts on the decomposition of liquid propellant composed mainly of ammonium dinitramide (ADN) or hydroxyl ammonium nitrate (HAN) were investigated. It was confirmed that the decomposition onset temperature during the decomposition of ADN- or HAN- based liquid propellant could be reduced significantly by using Pt/hexaaluminate pellet catalysts. Especially, in the case of the catalyst prepared by the M2 method, the decomposition onset temperature did not show a large change even when the calcination temperature was raised at $1,200^{\circ}C$. Therefore, it was confirmed that Pt/ hexaaluminate pellet catalyst prepared by M2 method has heat resistance and potential as a catalyst for the decomposition of the eco-friendly liquid propellants.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.394-394
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• 2016

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell requires the use of Pt-based catalysts. Due to the high cost and low abundance of Pt, many researchers have been studied to reduce the use of Pt while to enhance the catalytic performance of Pt. One of the promising strategies is the deposition of Pt as ultrathin skins of only a few atomic layers on nanoscale substrates made of another metal. This presentation will discuss the conformal deposition of Pt as uniform, ultrathin shells on Pd nanocrystals. By optimizing the catalytic behavior of Pt-based nanocrystals, we obtained the greatly enhanced ORR activity and durability.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.414-419
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• 1994

Surface of Pt/$Al_2O_3$ model catalyst was produced on an aluminum foil with surface area of 1 $cm^2$ The aluminum surface was oxidized under $10 ^5Torr$Torr oxygen and platinum was deposited on top of the oxide layer using a plasma evaporation source. Conversion of I-butene was performed on the model catalyst surface. Isomerization was the major reaction in I-butene conversion on the aluminum oxide layer. Addition of Pt on the aluminum oxide layer induces hydrogenation of I-butene. Selectivity for the hydrogenation increases as the amount of Pt on alumina increases.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.313-318
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• 2008

The influence of the particle size of platinum(Pt) on the stability and activity was studied. The particle size of platinum was controlled in the range of $3.5{\sim}9\;nm$ by heat treatment of commercial Pt/C and confirmed by XRD and TEM. An accelerated degradation test was performed to evaluate the stability of platinum catalysts. Oxygen reduction reaction was monitored for the measurement of activity. As increasing the Pt particle size, the stability of Pt/C electrode was enhanced and the activity was reduced. It was confirmed that the stability of Pt/C electrode was in inverse proportion to the activity. PtCo/C alloy catalyst was used to improve the activity and stability of large-sized platinum particle. The maximum power density of commercial Pt/C was $507.6\;mV/cm^2$ and PtCo/C alloy catalyst was $585.8\;mV/cm^2$. The decrement of electrochemical surface area showed Pt/C(60%) and PtCo/C alloy catalyst(24%). It was possible to enhance both of stability and activity of catalyst by the combination of particle size control and alloying.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.08a
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• pp.203-203
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• 2011

The importance of stepped single-crystal surfaces as model catalysts has been well recognized [1]. We re-investigated the adsorption properties of $H_2$ and CO, most important species in platinum-based catalysts, on nearly defect-free and highly stepped surfaces of one and the same Pt(111) crystal. While both being symmetric and single-peaked from the nearly defect-free surface, temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) spectra from the highly stepped surface saturated at 90 K with H and CO were triply- and doubly-peaked, respectively. Once pre-adsorbed, CO preempted step and then terrace sites, inhibiting the dissociative $H_2$ adsorption completely. Pre-adsorbed H inhibited the CO adsorption on terrace sites only, leaving defect sites intact for CO adsorption even at the saturation H precoverage. On defect-free Pt(111), while pre-adsorbed CO inhibited the dissociative $H_2$ adsorption completely, pre-adsorbed H could not inhibit the CO adsorption completely. These intriguing, but interesting results are discussed in terms of energetics/kinetics and the role of surface step sites in the dissociative adsorption of $H_2$ on Pt(111) [2].

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.435-441
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• 2012

The direct conversion of cellulose into polyols in $H_2$ was examined over Pt catalysts supported on various zeolites, viz., mordenite, Y, ferrierite, and ${\beta}$. For comparison, Pt catalysts supported on ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$, $SiO_2-Al_2O_3$, and $SiO_2$ were also tested. The physical properties of the catalysts were probed with $N_2$ physisorption. The surface acidity was measured with temperature programmed desorption of ammonia ($NH_3$-TPD). The Pt content was quantified with inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The Pt dispersion was determined with CO chemisorptions and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The conversion of cellulose appeared to be mainly dependent on the reaction temperature and reaction time because it depends on the concentration of $H^+$ ions reversibly formed in hot water. Pt/H-mordenite (20) showed the highest yield to polyols among the tested catalysts. Pt/H-zeolite was superior to Pt/Na-zeolite for this reaction. The polyol yield was dependent on the surface acid density and the external surface area.

• Carbon letters
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.198-202
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• 2015

Carbon-supported Pt catalyst systems containing defect adsorption sites on the anode of direct methanol fuel cells were investigated, to elucidate the mechanisms of H₂ dissociation and carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Density functional theory calculations were carried out to determine the effect of defect sites located neighboring to or distant from the Pt catalyst on H₂ and CO adsorption properties, based on electronic properties such as adsorption energy and electronic band gap. Interestingly, the presence of neighboring defect sites led to a reduction of H₂ dissociation and CO poisoning due to atomic Pt filling the defect sites. At distant sites, H₂ dissociation was active on Pt, but CO filled the defect sites to form carbon π-π bonds, thus enhancing the oxidation of the carbon surface. It should be noted that defect sites can cause CO poisoning, thereby deactivating the anode gradually.