title: Negligible degradation upon in situ voltage cycling of a PEMFC using an electrospun niobium-doped tin oxide supported Pt cathode.
abstract: Novel platinum-catalysed, corrosion-resistant, loose-tube-structured electrocatalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells have been obtained using single-needle electrospinning associated with a microwave-assisted polyol method. Monodisperse platinum particles supported on Nb-SnO2 demonstrated higher electrochemical stability than conventional Pt/C electrodes during ex situ potential cycling and comparable activity in the oxygen reduction reaction. In situ fuel cell operation under accelerated stress test conditions of a membrane electrode assembly elaborated using a Pt/C anode and Pt/Nb-SnO2 cathode confirmed that the voltage loss is significantly lower for the novel cathode than for an MEA prepared using conventional Pt/C supported electrocatalysts. Furthermore, the Nb-SnO2 stabilised the supported platinum nanoparticles against dissolution, migration and reprecipitation in the membrane. Pt/Nb-SnO2 loose-tubes constitute a mitigation strategy for two known degradation mechanisms in PEMFC: corrosion of the carbon support at the cathode, and dissolution of Pt at high cell voltages.
authors.affiliation: Institut Charles Gerhardt, UMR CNRS 5253, Agrégats Interfaces Matériaux pour l'Energie, Université de Montpellier, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France. sara.cavaliere@univ-montp2.fr.
authors.forename: Iuliia
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Savych
authors.forename: Surya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Subianto
authors.forename: Yannick
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nabil
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cavaliere
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rozière