Heteroatom Doped Carbon Nanofibers Synthesized by Chemical Vapor Deposition as Platinum Electrocatalyst Supports for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

Aimed at improved durability and catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction, carbon nanofibers(CNFs) with nitrogen, phosphorus and boron dopants have been synthesized by chemical vapor deposition of acetylene on electrolessly-plated copper foams. The as-prepared CNFs were extensively characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Raman analysis. Without any functionalization, the as-prepared CNF was employed as support for 40 wt.% Pt electrocatalyst (Pt/CNF). In an accelerated stability test (AST), Pt/CNF displayed higher stability relative to the state-of-the-art electrocatalyst from Johnson Matthey (Pt/C-JM) with the same Pt loading. TEM images after AST for Pt/CNF were obtained and found that the doped carbon nanofiber support is more resistant to corrosion. At the meantime, the catalytic activity to oxygen reduction for Pt/CNF surpassed Pt/C-JM by more positive on-set potential. CNFs with N, P and B dopants synthesized in this work should have promised applications for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells.