Development of Highly Active and Durable Pt Core-Shell Catalysts for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

Reducing the Pt usage by improving the activity of Pt catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction is important for the cost reduction of polymer electrolyte fuel cells. Core-shell catalysts, in which Pt monolayer is deposited on different metal core nanoparticles, are one of the key techniques to improve the mass activity of Pt. We are developing highly active and durable Pt ML core-shell catalysts, especially focusing on Au cores, which have highly electrochemical stability. Here we overview our research results on the core/shell catalysts prepared by the Cu-UPD method, the new method for Pt monolayer formation on Au cores, and the improvement of the stability of Au core nanoparticles.