Electro-Oxidation Activity of Pt-CeOx Carbon Supported Catalysts

Abstract

Platinum doped cerium oxide thin film catalyst reveals high activity at very low Pt content in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. The cyclic voltammetry study presented in this manuscript shows its electrochemical properties. Catalysts in form of very thin and highly porous layers deposited on carbon supports were prepared by magnetron sputtering. The sputtered catalysts were compared with the commercial Pt-C reference one. The photoelectron spectroscopy studies showed that the chemical state of platinum prepared by such a physical way is ionic which might be favorable for the catalytic activity. In this study the hydrogen and methanol electro oxidation was investigated using cyclic voltammetry. It was shown that the Pt-CeO2 sputtered catalyst was more resistant to CO poisoning than the Pt-C reference.