Application of CO atmosphere in the liquid phase synthesis as a universal way to control the microstructure and electrochemical performance of Pt/C electrocatalysts

A number of new platinum-based catalysts with Pt loading from 15.2% to 17.3% was obtained by wet chemical synthesis. Ethylene glycol, formaldehyde, and formic acid were used as reducing agents. The synthesis was performed both at ambient conditions and when the solution was saturated with carbon monoxide. It was shown that the catalysts obtained in the CO environment possess a larger electrochemical active surface area (EСSA), 140–146 m2 g−1 (Pt), compared to the analogues that have been made at ambient conditions, 72–120 m2 g−1(Pt). This could be explained by a smaller platinum NPs average size as well as a very narrow distribution of their size. In contrast to the materials synthesized at ambient conditions, the ECSA values of the catalysts, obtained in the CO-saturated media, in fact, do not depend on the type of reducing agent and the synthesis conditions. Such catalysts demonstrate the best mass-activity in ORR, which is higher than that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst HiSPEC 3000 (20% of Pt loading) and the analogues obtained at ambient conditions. Distinctive features of the nanoparticles nucleation/growth and their structure were determined and studied when formic acid was applied as a reducing agent. Absorption processes of the CO molecules on the surface of platinum nuclei are a plausible explanation for the CO influence on nucleation/growth and, therefore, on the microstructure and EСSA, as well as other functional characteristics of Pt/C-catalysts.