The effect of carbon support treatment on the stability of Pt/C electrocatalysts

A potential cycling test was conducted to evaluate the effect of carbon support treatment on the stability of Pt/C electrocatalysts. The FTIR spectra show that after oxidative treatments, the carbon support became rich in oxygen-containing functional groups. Oxidative treatments of the carbon support increase the interaction between the metal particle and the support, resulting in an improved electrochemical stability of Pt/C catalysts. The Pt/C catalyst prepared from the H2O2-treated carbon support exhibits a higher stability than that prepared from the HNO3-treated carbon support.