Redeposition of electrochemically dissolved platinum as nanoparticles on carbon

• We provide a proof-of-concept for an alternative platinum catalyst recycling scheme.
• Platinum is dissolved electrochemically.
• Platinum is reprecipitated as nanoparticles without going through solid platinum intermediates.

Electrochemical dissolution of platinum has been proposed by several research groups as an environmentally friendly way to recover platinum from catalytic structures such as fuel cell electrodes. For the case of electrochemical dissolution of platinum in hydrochloric acid electrolyte, the present communication reports a simple chemical method for reprecipitating platinum as nanoparticles of reasonable particle size on a carbon substrate without intermediary separation and handling of solid platinum salt.After electrochemical dissolution, platinum was reprecipitated using a polyol based method. Platinum on carbon was then identified, quantified, and the particle size evaluated by powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis and cyclic voltammetry.