Abstract
Platinum (Pt) is a widely used electrocatalyst material in fuel cells and electrolysers. Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells and electrolysis operate under highly acidic conditions whereas the more recently developed anion exchange membrane (AEM) processes take place under alkaline conditions. Pt dissolution and Pt oxidation during operation and varying potentials has been studied mainly for the acidic PEM and less for the alkaline AEM. This study presents a comparison of Pt dissolution and Pt oxidation in 0.5 M H2SO4 and 1 M KOH using electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) on Pt thin films. Physical characterisation using electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed small, yet significant differences in the Pt film surface structure, which is related to differences in measured electrochemical surface area (ECSA). The mass increase from adsorption of oxygenated species and Pt oxidation is higher in alkaline conditions compared to in acid while dissolution of Pt is similar.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e202200591 |
| Journal | ChemElectroChem |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 22 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 25 Nov 2022 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2022 The Authors. ChemElectroChem published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.
Funding
This project is financially supported by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (Project No. ARC19‐0026), and by the Swedish Research Council (Project No. 2018‐03927). This work was performed in part at Myfab Chalmers and the Chalmers Material Analysis Laboratory, CMAL. The Competence Centre for Catalysis is hosted by Chalmers University of Technology and financially supported by the Swedish Energy Agency and the member companies ECAPS, Johnson Matthey, Perstorp, PowerCell, Preem, Scania CV, Umicore and Volvo Group. This project is financially supported by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (Project No. ARC19-0026), and by the Swedish Research Council (Project No. 2018-03927). This work was performed in part at Myfab Chalmers and the Chalmers Material Analysis Laboratory, CMAL. The Competence Centre for Catalysis is hosted by Chalmers University of Technology and financially supported by the Swedish Energy Agency and the member companies ECAPS, Johnson Matthey, Perstorp, PowerCell, Preem, Scania CV, Umicore and Volvo Group.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| CMAL | |
| Chalmers Material Analysis Laboratory | |
| Myfab Chalmers | |
| Umicore and Volvo Group | |
| Stiftelsen för Strategisk Forskning | ARC19‐0026 |
| Vetenskapsrådet | 2018‐03927 |
| Energimyndigheten |
Keywords
- Electrochemical quartz-crystal microbalance
- Electrochemistry
- Platinum
- Platinum dissolution
- Platinum oxide growth