Nitrogen-doped carbon achieving the construction of high-loading Pt catalyst and enhancement of fuel cells performance

Highly loaded Pt catalysts often suffer from poor oxygen reduction performance due to challenges in controlling the dispersion and particle size of Pt particles, with carbon carriers playing a crucial role in this aspect. Herein, N-doped carbon carriers were prepared through a solvothermal reaction, combined with continuous microwave-assisted technology to effectively manage the particle size and dispersion of Pt nanoparticles. The resulting highly loaded Pt catalysts demonstrated excellent activity and durability. The nitrogen-doped carbon not only reduced the size and concentration of Pt particles but also regulated the electronic structure of Pt, thereby enhancing the interaction between Pt and the carriers. The catalysts exhibited an electrochemical active area of 114 m 2 g −1 Pt and a half-wave potential of 0.907 V. Following 30,000 accelerated durability tests, the mass activity decay rate was approximately 20%, surpassing that of commercial Pt/C catalysts. A peak power density of 1.22 W cm −2 was achieved in MEA under H 2 -Air conditions. Furthermore, the catalysts developed using nitrogen-doped modified carbon materials demonstrated the ability for large-scale production, holding promising potential for practical applications in proton exchange membrane fuel cells.