Iron and nitrogen co-doped titania framework as hybrid catalyst support for improved durability in polymer electrolyte fuel cells

Stable hybrid support for platinum is prepared for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). The synergetic interaction between platinum and optimum level of iron and nitrogen co-doped into titania (TiONFe) framework moiety leads to superior cell performance and long-term stability as compared to platinum on carbon. Pt metal nanoparticles are deposited on TiONFe framework by colloidal method. Accelerated durability test (ADT) are performed for both Pt/C and Pt/TiONFe framework by potential hold at 1.2 V. The corrosion stability is increased for platinum deposited on TiONFe framework in PEFC and retains 50% of cell performance even after 200 h as compared to Pt/C with only 18% of cell performance for 80 h. The degradation of catalyst and loss of cell performance are explained by various characterizations before and after ADT.