Influence of silica support size in fuel cell application

Abstract

The size-controlled Platinum-Silica heterogeneous nanoparticles were fabricated by alcohol reducing method to evaluate performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The diameter of silica support was controlled by variations of ammonia, water, Tetraethylorthosilicate(TEOS) concentration using the Stober method. The Pt-silica was formed by platinum immobilized on the surfaces of the uniform silica with various diameters. The number of platinum nanoparticles with diameter of around 3.0 nm are formed and strongly attached to the silica surface modified with APTMS (3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane). Amino groups were employed as a chemical protocol to make a binding between platinum nanoparticle and silica. After that, membrane electrode assembly was prepared by decal transfer method using Nafion membrane. The polarization of PEMFC was measured by cell test station.