A Study on Catalytic Activity of Oxygen Reduction Reaction and Performance of PEMFC using Pt/C Synthesized by Modified Polyol

In this research, we investigate electrical performance and electrochemical properties of carbon supported Pt (Pt/C) that is synthesized by polyol method. With the Polyol_Pt/C that is adopted for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) as cathode of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), their catalytic activity and ORR performance and electrical performance are estimated and compared with commercial Pt/C(Johnson Mattey) catalyst. Their electrochemically active surface (EAS) area are measured by cyclic voltammetry (CV), respectively. On the other hand, regarding ORR activity and electrical performance of the catalysts, (i) linear sweeping voltammetry by rotating disk electrode and (ii) PEMFC single cell tests are used. The CV measurement demonstrate EAS of Polyol_Pt/C is compared with commercial JM_Pt/C. In case of Polyol_Pt/C, its half-wave potential, kinetic current density are excellent. Based on data obtained by half-cell test, when PEMFC single cell tests are carried out, current density measured at 0.6V and maximum power density of the PEMFC single cell employing Polyol_Pt/C are better than those employing commercial Pt/C. Conclusively, Polyol_Pt/C synthesized by modified polyol process shows better ORR catalytic activity and PEMFC performance than other catalysts