Potentiostatic Electrodeposition of Pt-Fe Alloy Catalyst and Application in PEMFC Cathode

Pt-Fe alloy for proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) cathode catalyst was prepared on the porous carbon cloth by electrodeposition under the constant voltage. The reduction potential was determined by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The physical and electrochemical performances of catalysts were characterized by X-ray difffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), energy dispersive spectrograph (EDS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), single cell polarization test and in-situ electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technique. The results show that the highly-dispersed Pt-Fe alloy catalyst is obtained by electrodeposition at 0.075 V. The electrodeposition time has remarkable effect on the compositions of Pt-Fe alloy. The ratio of Pt to Fe increases with the co-deposition time. Fe can sufficiently improve the catalytic activity of Pt for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Pt-Fe alloy catalyst electrodeposited for 30 mm shows better catalytic activity for ORR than pure Pt catalyst.