Engineering topics

Popov, Branko N.

Publications and source records attributed to Popov, Branko N..

3 records

DOE OSTI2022

Review—Development of Highly Active and Stable Catalyst Supports and Platinum–Free Catalysts for PEM Fuel Cell

Metal-free, metal-containing, and template-assisted metal-containing nitrogen-modified carbon-based catalysts carbon composite supports, and highly active and electrochemically stable hybrid cathode catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction are reviewed in this manuscript. Here, novel procedures are developed for the synthesis of (i) highly catalytically active PGM-free catalyst and stable carbon composite catalyst supports. The carbon composite catalyst supports are engineered with optimized BET surface area and pore size distribution and with a well-defined kinetic and mass transfer region during the reaction and their performance is dicussed in detail in this review. The surface activation results in increasing carbon graphitization and inclusion of non-metallic active sites on the support surface. The USC catalysts exhibit the initial performance of 0.91 V and a maximum power density of 177 mW cm –2 , with well-defined kinetic and mass-transfer regions and ~2.5% H 2 O 2 production. Activated carbon composite support (ACCS) is modified to optimize its kinetic activity and its electrochemical stability shows excellent thermal stability and support stability under simulated start-up/shut-down operating conditions. The stabilities of various supports developed in this study are compared with those of a commercial Pt/C catalyst. The active sites for the ORR identified with electrochemical and physicochemical methods are pyridinic-N and quaternary-N.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

DOE OSTI2020

Highly stable and ordered intermetallic PtCo alloy catalyst supported on graphitized carbon containing Co@CN for oxygen reduction reaction

A PtCo alloy catalyst was prepared by thermal diffusion of Co encapsulated with thin N-doped carbon layers on graphitic carbon into a Pt lattice (PtCo/NGC). The Co diffused up to the near-Pt surface and resulted in an intermetallic PtCo structure without the leaching process. The intermetallic PtCo structure thermally treated under optimized conditions showed 3-fold higher mass activity than the commercial Pt/C. The potential and maximum power density loss of PtCo/NGC after 30 000 potential cycles were 34 mV and 11%, respectively, which indicated that the PtCo/NGC was remarkably stable when compared to commercial Pt/C and commercial PtCo/GC catalysts. The enhanced catalytic performance and stability of the PtCo/NGC catalyst were attributed to the formation of an intermetallic structure that alleviated the Pt oxidation and Co dissolution. The outstanding performance and stability qualify the ordered intermetallic PtCo/NGC to be a promising cathode catalyst for the commercialization of fuel cells.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2020

Review—Development of Highly Active and Durable Hybrid Compressive Platinum Lattice Catalysts for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells: Mathematical Modeling and Experimental Work

This review provides a comprehensive overview on the development of highly active and durable platinum catalysts with ultra-low Pt loadings for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) through a combined mathematical modeling and experimental work. First, simulation techniques were applied to evaluate the validity of the Tafel approximation for the calculation of the mass activity (MA) and specific activity (SA). A one-dimensional agglomeration model was developed and solved to understand the effects of exchange current density, porosity, agglomerate size, Nafion ® film thickness, and Pt loading on the MA and SA. High porosity (> 60%) and agglomerations at high Pt loadings cause the loss of the Tafel approximation and consequently the decrease in MA and SA. A new structure parameter was introduced to estimate the real porous structure using the fractal theory. The volumetric catalyst density was corrected by the fractal dimension (measured by Hg porosimetry), which gave a good agreement with the experimental values. The loading-dependent Tafel equation was then derived, which contains both the utilization and the non-linear scaling factor. Second, activated carbon composite support (ACCS) with optimized surface area, porosity, pore size, and pore size distribution was developed. The hydrophilic/hydrophobic ratio, structural properties (amorphous/crystalline ratio), and the number of active sites were optimized through metal-catalyzed pyrolysis. Stability of ACCS and Pt/ACCS were evaluated using an accelerated stress test (AST). The results indicated that Pt/ACCS showed no significant loss of MA and power density after 5,000 cycles at 1.0–1.5 V, while the commercial Pt/C catalysts showed drastic losses of MA and power density. Finally, monolayers of compressed Pt (core–shell-type Pt 3 Co 1 ) catalysts were structured by diffusing Co atoms (previously embedded in ACCS) into Pt. Compressive Pt lattice (Pt * ) catalysts were synthesized through an annealing procedure developed at the University of South Carolina (USC). The Pt * /ACCS catalyst showed high initial power density (rated) of 0.174 g Pt kW −1 and high stability (24 mV loss) at 0.8 A cm −2 after 30,000 cycles (0.6–1.0 V). The outstanding performance of Pt * /ACCS is due to the synergistic effect of ACCS and compressive Pt * lattice.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗