Unrevealing the Impact of Annealing Condition on Catalytic Activity of PtNi Alloy Electrode Towards Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Anindya Pramudya Wardhani; Salwaa Tanaya; Retna Deca Pravitasari; Damisih Damisih; Dewi Kusuma Arti; Sri Rahayu; Muhammad Didik Gumelar; Elok Fidiani

doi:10.22146/ijc.99297

Unrevealing the Impact of Annealing Condition on Catalytic Activity of PtNi Alloy Electrode Towards Oxygen Reduction Reaction

https://doi.org/10.22146/ijc.99297

Anindya Pramudya Wardhani⁽¹⁾, Salwaa Tanaya⁽²⁾, Retna Deca Pravitasari⁽³⁾, Damisih Damisih⁽⁴⁾, Dewi Kusuma Arti⁽⁵⁾, Sri Rahayu⁽⁶⁾, Muhammad Didik Gumelar⁽⁷⁾, Elok Fidiani^(8*)

(1) Department of Physics, Parahyangan Catholic University, Jl. Ciumbuleuit 94, Bandung 40141, Indonesia
(2) Department of Chemical Engineering, Parahyangan Catholic University, Jl. Ciumbuleuit 94, Bandung 40141, Indonesia
(3) Research Center for Advanced Materials, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jl. Raya Puspiptek 60, Setu, Tangerang Selatan 15314, Indonesia
(4) Research Center for Advanced Materials, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jl. Raya Puspiptek 60, Setu, Tangerang Selatan 15314, Indonesia
(5) Research Center for Advanced Materials, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jl. Raya Puspiptek 60, Setu, Tangerang Selatan 15314, Indonesia
(6) Research Center for Energy Conversion and Conservation, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jl. Raya Puspiptek 60, Setu, Tangerang Selatan 15314, Indonesia
(7) Research Center for Energy Conversion and Conservation, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jl. Raya Puspiptek 60, Setu, Tangerang Selatan 15314, Indonesia
(8) Department of Physics, Parahyangan Catholic University, Jl. Ciumbuleuit 94, Bandung 40141, Indonesia
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract

Alloying platinum (Pt) with transition metals such as nickel (Ni) has been an effective approach for reducing Pt loading and enhancing catalytic activities towards the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) on the cathode of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). In this work, we advance the fabrication of PtNi alloy electrodes through direct synthesis on the gas diffusion layer (GDL) utilizing wet chemical reduction methods. The catalytic activities and binding interaction between Pt and Ni are optimized through annealing PtNi electrodes at 200 °C under different gas flows of N₂ and the mixture of H₂/N₂ at 5%/95%. The physical characterization using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) show the significant effect of the annealing environment on the morphology and distribution of the PtNi alloy catalyst on the GDL surface. The optimized electrodes exhibited enhanced ORR mass activity, with values of 8.17 and 18.26 mA mg⁻¹ for PtNi annealed with N₂ and N₂/H₂, respectively, surpassing the benchmark Pt/C (5.25 mA mg⁻¹). These results underscore the critical role of the annealing environment in optimizing the catalytic performance of PtNi-based electrodes for PEMFC applications, offering insights into more efficient fuel cell technologies.

Keywords

PtNi; ORR; PEMFC; annealing; catalyst electrode

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/ijc.99297