Electrocatalytic activity of Pt/C nanocatalyst stabilized by different amounts of sodium citrate in oxygen reduction reaction

Subject Areas :

Kulthum Mehrabinejad ¹ , Mehdi Kheirmand ^{2 *}

1 - Department of chemistry, payame noor University, Ardakan, Iran
2 - Department of chemistry, school of basic sciences, Yasouj university, Yasouj, Iran

Received: 2023-03-01 Accepted : 2023-11-12 Published : 2024-03-17

Keywords: Platinum nanoparticles, Oxygen reduction reaction, Electrocatalyst, Sodium citrate.,

Abstract :

In the present study, Pt(20wt%)/C electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction in the cathode of fuel cells were synthesized with different amounts of trisodium citrate as stabilizing agent, to achieve higher efficiency of platinum electrocatalyst. The electrocatalysts containing platinum and trisodium citrate with ratios of 1:12, 1:9, 1:6, and 1:3 (Pt/C:TC) were prepared by using the saturation-reduction method. To evaluate the oxygen reduction reaction in the cathode catalyst layer in an acidic environment cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), rotating disk electrode (RDE), and finally electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques were applied. Also, morphology of the catalysts was studied with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the efficiency of the synthesized electrocatalysts at a ratio of 1:3 (Pt/C:TC) was better for oxygen reduction. It also had lower charge transfer resistance, more suitable distribution, and higher electrochemically active surface area (14.7 m2gPt). In addition, the number of electrons involved in the oxygen reduction reaction was calculated to follow the four-electron pathway for the electrocatalyst prepared at ratio of 1:3.

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