Carbon monoxide poisoning of platinum-graphite catalysts for polymer electrolyte fuel cells: comparison between platinum-supported on graphite and intercalated in graphite

Platinum intercalated in graphite and Pt supported on graphite have been synthesized as catalysts for polymer electrolyte fuel cells in order to test the effect of carbon monoxide adsorption on their electrochemical properties. These materials have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, neutron activation analysis and cyclic voltammetry in Nafion-based films in contact with H2SO4 solution at pH 0.5 Pt intercalates are indeed tridimensional Pt cluster inclusions in a perturbed graphite matrix. Hydrogen electrosorption measurements demonstrate that Pt supported on graphite has three times more active sites than Pt intercalated in graphite even if Pt loadings (16 ± 4 Pt wt.%) and the size of Pt clusters (3.4 ± 0.4 nm) are similar for both catalysts. Pt supported on graphite and intercalated in graphite are equally poisoned by carbon monoxide.