Towards tailored nanomaterials for fuel-cell applications: Binary platinum-tungsten nanoalloys by spark ablation

0573842 - ÚT 2024 RIV CZ eng A - Abstract
Zábojníková, N. - Němec, Tomáš - Garapati, Meenakshi Seshadhri - Híveš, J. - Vretenár, V.
Towards tailored nanomaterials for fuel-cell applications: Binary platinum-tungsten nanoalloys by spark ablation.
Hydrogen Days 2023 : 13th International Conference on Hydrogen technologies. Praha: The Czech Hydrogen Technology Platform HYTEP, 2023 - (Stehlík, K.). s. 58-58. ISBN 978-80-907264-4-4.
[Hydrogen Days 2023 International Conference on Hydrogen technologies /13/. 29.03.2023-31.03.2023, Praha]
Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) StrategieAV21/29
Program: StrategieAV
Institutional support: RVO:61388998
Keywords : nanomaterials * spark discharge generator * proton exchange membrane fuel cell
OECD category: Nano-processes (applications on nano-scale)

Spark discharge generator (SDG) is an environmentally friendly, scalable and cost-efficient gas-phase method employing spark discharge plasmas for the production of high-purity nanoparticles with tailored properties. Approximately 80 pure elements can be converted into nanoparticles using spark ablation. The use of alloyed electrodes, sintered mixed-powder electrodes, or the setup of two electrodes from different metals in the SDG can yield mixed nanoparticles with predictable and tunable composition and size distribution. The potential for the use of nanoparticles generated by SDG is large, including materials for catalysis, lithium ion batteries, semiconductor fabrication, etc. Specifically, core-shell nanoparticles have potential applications as electrocatalysts in proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). We have synthesized binary platinum-tungsten nanoparticles by SDG both in the form of homogeneous nanoalloys and inho-mogeneous core-shell-like nanosystems. Our results show how the evaporation rates for Pt-Pt, Pt-W, and W-Pt SDG electrode arrangements (anode-cathode) depend on the carrier gas employed in the process and how efficient is the nanoparticle collection by electrostatic filtering. Moreover, EDS-STEM elemental mapping and XRD characterization show a correlation of the ratio of the evaporated material from each electrode and the composition of the synthesized nanomaterials. With one of the electrode arrangements, using platinum as the anode and tungsten as the cathode, we have achieved to form core-shell nanostructures.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0349346