- By:
- Pagot, Gioele; Vezzu, Keti; Nale, Angeloclaudio; Bonaccorso, Francesco; Kulesza, Pawel; Rutkowska, Iwona; Negro, Enrico; Zawodzinski, Thomas; Cullen, David A; Zelenay, Piotr; Noto, Vito
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Power Sources
- Page Number:
- 239733
- Volume:
- 674
- Publication Date:
- August 31, 2026
- View DOI Listing:
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2026.239733
Abstract
The sluggish kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) hinder cost-effective polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs), which rely on scarce, expensive platinum-based electrocatalysts (ECs). Here, we present a novel synthesis method for ORR ECs achieving exceptional platinum utilization. The design features a hierarchical “multi-carbon” support comprising carbon nanoparticles interacting with graphene nanoplatelets as the “core”, encapsulated by a porous carbon nitride (CN) “shell”. This configuration promotes strong core/shell interactions and a bimodal active site distribution, consisting of chemically dispersed Pt and Ni single-atom complexes and PtNix alloy nanoclusters embedded in the CN shell. These advantages enable high activity and durability, achieving an ORR activity of 1.6 A mgPt−1 at 0.9 V vs. RHE-an order of magnitude higher than Pt/C (0.17 A mgPt−1). A proof-of-concept PEFC demonstrates a specific power of 12.0 kW gPt−1 at 0.60 V. This approach offers a significant step toward more efficient and sustainable PEFC technologies.
