Comparison of the performance and degradation mechanism of PEMFC with Pt/C and Pt black catalyst

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has been used in supplying power for Unmanned Underwater Vehicle which operate in a closed environment and dead-ended anode and cathode (DEAC) mode is deemed as an effective way to enhance the fuel utilization rate. Catalyst is an important factor that influences the performance and durability of PEMFC, especially in DEAC mode. In this paper, the degradation characteristics of PEMFCs with Pt black and Pt/C catalyst after 100 h operation have been investigated by electrochemical techniques and morphological characterization methods. It's shown that the degradation of Pt black catalyst layer (CL) was more severe than that of Pt/C CL. The difference of performance degradation is due to the dominant decay mechanism of these two catalysts is different. According to SEM, TEM and XPS results, the decay of Pt black catalyst is mainly caused by Pt agglomeration and oxidation, causing a higher ohmic resistance, higher mass transfer resistance and severer degradation of performance. The degradation of Pt/C catalyst is mainly due to the reduction of electrochemical surface area and carbon corrosion because the larger carbon corrosion makes micropores and the thicker supporting structure, resulting in the performance degradation. • Pt/C catalyst shows better durability than that of Pt black under dead-ended anode and cathode mode. • Severe catalyst degradation occurs at the outlet of cathode. • The decay of Pt/C catalyst was mainly resulted from carbon corrosion. • The decay of Pt black catalyst was mainly caused by the migration and dissolution of Pt particles.