Development of graphene supported platinum nanoparticles for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells: Effect of support type and impregnation–reduction methods

• GO, GNP and TRGO as Pt support were compared in terms of PEM fuel cell performance.
• Pt/graphene types were compared in terms of particle size, dispersion and activity.
• Fuel cell performance of GNP is presented for the first time in literature.
• Two different Pt precursors are also compared with ex-situ characterizations.
• Pt/r-GO achieved better performance than Vulcan XC-72 at all current densities.

There are various studies for the development of graphene supported platinum (Pt/graphene) as the electrocatalyst for polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells, however, a few of them confirmed the fuel cell performance. We demonstrate here a comprehensive overview on synthesis, characterization and fuel cell performance of Pt/graphene electrocatalysts. In our study, Pt nanoparticles were anchored onto graphene oxide (GO), graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) and thermally reduced GO (TRGO) by several impregnation-reduction methods including ethylene glycol reflux, sodium borohydride reduction and ascorbic acid reduction. The most promising results in terms of Pt dispersion, particle size, and electrocatalytic activity were obtained with ethylene glycol reflux and GO as the support material. The maximum power density of 320 mW cm−2 (40% higher than that of Pt/Vulcan XC-72) was achieved for Pt/r-GO with a Pt loading of 0.25 mg cm−2. Moreover, PEM fuel cell performance of Pt/GNP is presented for the first time in literature.