Influence of Carbon Support on Catalytic Layer Performance of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Pt-based catalysts supported onto various carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and carbon black Vulcan XC-72 have been studied in this work. The samples have been prepared via electrochemical dispersion technique. The carbon nanotubes exhibit the mesoporous morphology with the pore size of 5-30 nm, while Vulcan XC-72 support exhibits a microporous structure. The agglomeration of Pt particles (5-7 nm) is found to be more extended at the carbon nanotubes compared to the carbon black. The examination of the synthesized catalysts in a catalytic membrane electrode assembly layer reveals that CNTs favor a power density higher than in the carbon black support owing to a more suitable porous structure of the catalyst layer. Moreover, the maximum characteristics of membrane electrode assembly are obtained for few-walled carbon nanotubes with a broad carbon having size distribution.