Aerosol Synthesis of Nanoparticles for Deposition of Catalytic Layers

0549067 - ÚT 2022 RIV CZ eng A - Abstrakt
Němec, Tomáš - Šonský, Jiří - Gruber, Jan
Aerosol Synthesis of Nanoparticles for Deposition of Catalytic Layers.
HydrogenDays 2021. Praha: The Czech Hydrogen Technology Platform, 2021 - (Stehlík, K.). s. 42-42. ISBN 978-80-907264-6-8.
[HydrogenDays 2021. 24.03.2021-25.03.2021, Praha]
Grant CEP: GA TA ČR(CZ) TM01000018
Institucionální podpora: RVO:61388998
Klíčová slova: spark discharge generator * catalyst nanoparticles * hydrogen fuel cells * gas diffusion electrode * electrochemically active surface area
Obor OECD: Electrical and electronic engineering
http://www.hydrogendays.cz/2021/

We use an aerosol-based nanoparticle synthesis process to produce metallic nanoparticles for applications in catalysis. The method is based on a spark discharge generator (SDG), which allows us to evaporate a solid metal rod and to mix the metallic vapor with a carrier gas to achieve a rapid condensation of metallic vapors. Platinum nanoparticles of 5 nm average diameter can be produced at a production rate of grams per day by a typical SDG. Direct deposition of the SDG nanoparticles on a gas diffusion layer enables us to make gas diffusion electrodes for hydrogen fuel cells in a simple one-step process. The gas diffusion electrodes utilizing the SDG platinum catalyst nanoparticles were used to prepare membrane electrode
assemblies (MEA) by a standard hot-pressing procedure. The performance of MEAs was measured in a laboratory fuel cell with a 5 cm2 active area. Reference MEAs were prepared by a conventional blade-coating process of the catalyst ink (using Pt/C HiSpec 3000 catalyst) onto a gas diffusion layer, followed by the hot-pressing step. By using the standard Nafion HP membrane in both cases, we were able to directly compare the performance of the SDG catalyst layer vs. the reference blade-coated catalyst layer under real-world fuel cell operating conditions. Moreover, cyclic voltammetry has been employed to characterize the electrochemically active surface area of the two types of catalytic layers. The SDG catalytic layers show promising performance results and may represent a viable alternative to commercial electrodes for hydrogen fuel cell applications.
Trvalý link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0327133