2007 Volume 32 Issue 4 Pages 35-45
The high voltage stabilities of Pt/sulfated-ZrO2 and Pt/C electrocatalysts for a cathode of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) have been investigated using a constant cell voltage method. The cell performance, the electrochemical surface area (ESA) of Pt, and the cell resistance of the cells with Pt/sulfated-ZrO2 and Pt/C cathodes were measured after the cell voltage was kept at the constant voltage of 1.3 V. The severe degradation of the cell performance was observed on the Pt/C cathode. On the other hand, the cell performance and ESA of the Pt/sulfated-ZrO2 cathode hardly deteriorated with holding the cell voltage of 1.3 V for 120 min. It was clarified that the Pt/sulfated-ZrO2 had sufficiently higher voltage stability and might be a candidate for a stable cathode at high potential for PEFC.
