A Novel Method for Synthesis of Pt/Momc Catalyst for PEM Fuel Cell Application

Commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) has become an important challenge since platinum (Pt), which is being used as the primary catalyst, is highly expensive. The ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs), due to their very high surface area compared to conventional carbon back, are considered to be excellent substitute to improve the dispersion and efficient utilization of the Pt in the electro-catalysts. However, the OMCs prepared using reported methods suffer from lower electrical conductivity due to their amorphous structure making them unusable as Pt support in fuel cell. The aim of this research is to synthesize modified ordered mesoporous carbon (mOMC) supports using M/SBA-15 (M: Ni, CO, Fe, W) as hard template prepared via impregnation method. The mOMCs with high surface area, improved electrical conductivity, and durability are obtained by optimizing the parameters employed in the synthesis processes of mOMC. The synthesized mOMC is characterized by BET, TEM, XRD, Raman spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The catalysts will be tested for performance and polarization on 5 cm² membrane electrode assembly (MEAs) under controlled experimental conditions using well equipped Fuel Cell Testing Station (Model 850, Scribner Associates Inc.). Some of these results will be presented in this paper.