Effect of Annealing Time on Various PtNi/C Binary Alloy Catalysts for ORR in PEFCs

Polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) are used in automotive power supplies due to their advantages of low environmental impact and high energy conversion efficiency. However, Pt used for electrocatalysts is expensive and its activity and durability are problematic. In this study, the PtNi/C catalysts were prepared with different annealing times and the oxygen reduction reaction activity was evaluated. The linear sweep voltammograms and current-voltage curves showed that the PtNi/C catalysts annealing time for 60 min performed better than the commercial catalyst. This would be attributed to the internal alloying of Ni and better electronic structure due to the longer annealing time.