High PEMFC performance by applying Ir-V nanoparticles as a cathode catalyst

Very active catalysts Ir-V/C, as a novel suitable cathode catalyst in PEMFCs was synthesized using IrCl3 and NH4VO3 as the Ir and V precursors. By applying the ethylene glycol (EG) method, a well dispersion of Ir-V/C catalysts with mean particle size of 2 nm was obtained. The membrane–electrode assembly (MEA) fabricated with Ir-V nanoparticles exhibited the excellent catalytic activity toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and, reached 517 mW cm−2 at 0.43 V and 210 mW cm−2 at 0.30 V in a real fuel cell environment, H2/O2 and H2/air, respectively. In particular, promising results were obtained based on a low metal (Ir) loading of 0.4 mg cm−2 on the cathode which achieved 100 h durability at a constant current density of 1200 mA cm−2. The electrocatalytic effect related to a change in the electro-catalyst structure was discussed based on the XRD and TEM data. Also, for the first time, the electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) techniques were used to assess the kinetics of oxygen reduction on the produced samples and the enhancement effect of V in-situ of fuel cells.