Electrochemical comparison of supported electrocatalysts prepared using carbon nanofibers and activated carbon

FUEL 201

Abhishek Guha, abhishek.guha@case.edu1, David A. Schiraldi, das44@po.cwru.edu1, and Thomas A. Zawodzinski Jr., taz5@po.cwru.edu2. (1) Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 2100, Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH 44106-7202, (2) Department of Chemical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106-7217
The electrochemical performance of electrodes and Membrane Electrode Assemblies (MEA)s fabricated using Carbon Nanofibers (CNF) and Activated Carbon (AC) is investigated in this work. The ‘colloidal' method of supported catalyst synthesis is employed for homogenous deposition of platinum catalyst on the carbon support, under optimized preparation conditions. Electrochemically active surface areas of the platinum deposits are determined using cyclic voltammetry. Key electrochemical parameters such as efficiency of oxygen reduction are determined by Rotating disk electrode (RDE) studies. MEAs are fabricated using both Nafion® 112 and Nafion® 115 membranes. Fuel cell performance in the form of polarization curves are evaluated under ambient and back pressure conditions. An attempt is made to isolate and identify the effect of electrical conductivity of carbon support, on polarization response of the MEA. Measured electrochemical parameters for the carbon supports are compared to those obtained for commercially available supported catalysts.
 

Chemistry and Applications of Carbon Nanotubes and Nanoparticles
1:30 PM-4:45 PM, Wednesday, 13 September 2006 Palace -- Napa Room, Oral

Sci-Mix
8:00 PM-10:00 PM, Monday, 11 September 2006 Moscone Center -- Hall D, Sci-Mix

Division of Fuel Chemistry

The 232nd ACS National Meeting, San Francisco, CA, September 10-14, 2006