Improved Electrocatalytic Activity and Durability of Pt Nanoparticles Supported on Boron-Doped Carbon Black

• Main Authors: Rui Yao, Jun Gu, Haitong He, Tao Yu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-08-01
• Series: Catalysts
• Subjects: ORR; boron doping; electrocatalyst; Pt; carbon black
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/10/8/862

A facile strategy is proposed to synthesize boron-doped ECP600 carbon black (B-ECP600), and the catalyst of Pt supported on boron-doped ECP600 (Pt/B-ECP600) shows smaller particle sizes and a higher electrochemical surface area (95.62 m²·gPt⁻¹) and oxygen reduction reaction activity (0.286 A·mg_Pt⁻¹ for mass activity; 0.299 mA·cm⁻² for area specific activity) compared to the catalyst of Pt supported on ECP600 (Pt/ECP600). The results show that the boron doping of the carbon supports plays an important role in controlling the size and dispersion of Pt nanoparticles and the O₂ adsorption/dissociation of the oxygen reduction reaction. A further accelerated durability test proves that boron doping can greatly enhance the stability of carbon support and thus improves the electrochemical performance of the catalyst during the long-time running. All these results suggest boron-doped carbon has great potential for application in fuel cells.