Development of Carbon Nanofibers/Pt Nanocomposites for Fuel Cell Application
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RESEARCH ARTICLE-CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
Development of Carbon Nanofibers/Pt Nanocomposites for Fuel Cell Application K. Y. Mudi1,2,3 · A. S. Abdulkareem1,2 · A. S. Kovo1,2 · O. S. Azeez1 · J. O. Tijani2,4 · E. J. Eterigho1 Received: 3 October 2019 / Accepted: 28 March 2020 © King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals 2020
Abstract Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were prepared via the deposition of acetylene gas on bimetallic catalyst (Fe–Co) supported on kaolin in a catalytic chemical vapour reactor. Carbon nanofibers/Pt nanocomposite (Pt catalyst) was synthesized by immobilization of potassium tetrachloroplatinate (IV) (K2 PtCl4 ) onto the carbon nanofibers (CNFs) by a wet impregnation method. The effects of mass of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) (0.25–0.30 g) and deposition time (150–180 min) on the percentage of platinum (Pt) deposited on the nanofiber were investigated. The developed CNFs/Pt was characterized using different analytical tools such as HRSEM, EDS, HRTEM, BET, TGA, XRD, XPS and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The XRD patterns revealed the crystallite size of the Pt catalyst ranged between 5.54 and 6.69 nm, and the size decreased with increasing mass of support (CNFs). The HRTEM/HRSEM analysis of the CNFs/Pt catalyst showed that the dispersion and distribution pattern and the shape of the catalyst changes as the amount of CNFs increased from 0.25 to 0.3 g. However, deposition time did not influence the crystalline nature of the catalysts. XPS analysis demonstrated the existence of different oxidation states of Pt particles on the surface of CNFs. The CV analysis revealed that CNFs/Pt catalyst supports the oxygen reduction reaction and hydrogen oxidation reaction in the fuel cell. The platinum loading of 0.002–0.004 mgpt /cm2 in the fabricated electrodes using the developed CNFs/Pt nanocomposite was compared well with other electrodes (fabricated with other support materials) such as carbon black, carbon nanotubes, aerogel and titanium. Keywords Pt catalyst · Carbon nanofiber · Nanoparticles · Characterization · Wet impregnation · Cyclic voltammetry
1 Introduction The global search for alternative energy has brought about the use of fuel cell. Fuel Cell (FC), a device for conversion of chemical energy to electrical energy, was considered due to its efficiency, easy to operate and environmental friendliness [1]. There are three basic components of FC, namely the membrane, the electrode and gas diffusion layer called
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K. Y. Mudi [email protected]
1
Department of Chemical Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria
2
Nanotechnology Research Group, Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria
3
Department of Chemical Engineering, Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna, Kaduna State, Nigeria
4
Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria
membrane electrode assembly (MEA). The functions of the components include: transport electrons between the electrodes, carry out el
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