Fabrication and performance evaluation of graphene-supported PtRu electrocatalyst for high-temperature electrochemical hydrogen purification

The main aim of this study is to investigate the high-temperature electrochemical hydrogen purification (HT-ECHP) performances of graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) support material decorated with platinum (Pt) and platinum-ruthenium (PtRu) nanoparticles prepared by microwave irradiation technique. Prepared catalysts coupled to the phosphoric acid doped polybenzimidazole (PBI) membrane for HT-ECHP application. The structural and electrochemical properties of the catalysts were examined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Transition electron microscopy (TEM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) analyses. The characterization results indicate that the catalysts provided the necessary properties for HT-ECHP application. The HT-ECHP performances are investigated with reformate gas mixture containing hydrogen (H2), carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) in the range of 140–180 °C. The results show that the electrochemical purification performances of the catalysts increase with increasing operating temperature. The highest H2 purification performance is obtained with PtRu/GNP catalyst. The high electrochemical H2 purification performance of the PtRu/GNP catalyst can be attributed to the strong synergistic interactions between Pt and Ru particles decorated on the GNP. These results advocate that the PtRu/GNP catalyst is a hopeful catalyst for HT-ECHP application.