Third-body effects of native surfactants on Pt nanoparticle electrocatalysts in proton exchange fuel cells

Abstract

The residual surfactant organic molecules on electrocatalysts are expected to enhance the tolerance to specific anion adsorption, whereas the surfactants have been generally regarded as contaminants that block active surfaces. In this study, the Pt nanoparticles with adsorbed surfactants were prepared, and their electrochemical characteristics at various phosphoric acid concentrations were studied by the half-cell test. The third-body effect was experimentally confirmed by the single-cell test with a phosphoric acid-doped polybenzimidazole membrane.