View A Question
Return to the list of questions or ask a question.
Question
Category: Fuel Cells
Subject: Membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) formation
How can platinum powder be mixed with carbon or graphite powder for MEAs formation?
Answer
Platinum powder is not mixed with the carbon to form fuel cell catalysts. Simple mixing would result in platinum particles that:
a) Did not adhere to the carbon support.
b) Were significantly larger than usually found in fuel cell catalysts.
A typical method to prepare a fuel cell catalyst is to take a soluble platinum salt and mix it with the carbon as a slurry. The salt is then reduced to the metal either chemically (e.g. borohydride) or by heating in a reducing atmosphere.
A useful reference as a starting point to other literature is:
‘Formation of carbon supported PtM alloys for low temperature fuel cells: a review’, Ermete Antolini, Mater. Chem. Phys., 2003, 78, (3), 563Answer posted 27 September 2006
Submitted by: Mr Sarfraz Qureshi
Affiliation: SAQ Product Ltd
Answered by: Brian Theobald
Affiliation: Electrotechnology/Catalyst Preparation, Johnson Matthey Technology Centre