Efficient tuning of the Pt nano-particle mono-dispersion on Vulcan XC-72R by selective pre-treatment and electrochemical evaluation of hydrogen oxidation and oxygen reduction reactions

The effect of chemical pre-treatment of the carbon support used for deposition of Pt nano-particles is reported. Data on particle size, distribution and their electocatalytic activity toward hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are reported. Vulcan XC-72R carbon was pre-treated with 5% HNO3, 0.07 M H3PO4, 0.2 M KOH and 10% H2O2. The properties of carbon supports were studied by N2 adsorption and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Chemical reduction with ethylene glycol (EG) was used to synthesize Pt on carbon supports and the differences in catalyst morphology were characterized using CO chemisorption, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray analysis and transmission electron microscope techniques. The electrocatalytic activity of Pt/C catalysts toward HOR and ORR was examined by cyclic voltammetry (CV) on a rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) and compared with E-Tek Pt/C. The ORR was predominantly involved via four-electron process with the first electron transfer being the rate-determining step. However, the specific activity and mass activity were greatly influenced by the pre-treatment employed.