Internal and External Cooperation of Pt/SiC-Ni Catalyst Affording Unexpected Performance of Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

Abstract

We present here an unexpected active and robust catalyst Pt/SiC-Ni, affording a high-performance direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) with proton exchange membrane. The unique Ni-doped SiC support is obtained by an unusual method through the reaction deposition of CH₄ with NiSi₂ nanoalloys at low temperatures, in open spherical-shell morphology composed of SiC-Ni nanosheets, possessing high specific surface area (410 m² g⁻¹) and high conductivity. The membrane electrode assembly achieves a power of ∼1.12 kW g_Pt⁻¹ in DMFC with the Pt/SiC-Ni as the anodic catalyst. There are various coordination effects between the high surface area SiC with internally doped Ni and the externally loaded Pt NPs including surface reaction and mass transfer, which endows the DMFC with high power and stability. Additionally, differential electrochemical mass spectrometry and TGA-MS demonstrate the challenge of support corrosion has been significantly solved, another key factor for improving durability. The abovementioned findings are the first to demonstrate that metal-doping modified SiC materials loaded with Pt will be a highly promising catalyst for DMFC applications.