Pt-Ta-Co Electrocatalysts for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

Polymer electrolyte fuel cells for heavy-duty applications require highly active and durable electrocatalysts. Our research group has developed electrocatalysts with Pt-Ta-Co-based alloy. This study evaluates the cell performance with the Pt-Ta-Co-based alloy catalysts by varying the fabrication conditions of the electrocatalyst layers, such as the ionomer and solid ratio of the electrocatalyst paste. In addition, the effect of the carbon catalyst support on the cell performance is evaluated using mesoporous carbon and typical Ketjen black carbon supports. The cells using these new catalysts exhibited comparable performance as the cell using a typical Pt/KB catalyst.