ZIF derived PtNiCo/NC cathode catalyst for proton exchange membrane fuel cell

[Display omitted] •Pt/Pt alloy and single Pt atoms are anchored on defects rich carbon support.•PtNiCo/NC showed halfwave potential of 0.91 V while Pt/C showed 0.87 V.•PtNiCo/NC catalyst showed a peak power density of 1070 mWcm−2.•PtNiCo/NC exhibited excellent stability in fuel cell with no loss in performance.•Synergistic effect among nitrogen doped carbon, Co/Ni active sites and Pt/Pt alloy. High performance cathode catalysts with minimum platinum amount for the electrocatalyzed oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in PEMFCs remain as a significant challenge for commercial application. Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework (ZIF) based catalyst can provide void 3D framework of N-doped nano-porous carbon for promising ORR activity. Here we report a bimetallic pyrolyzed NiCo-ZIF supported fine Pt/Pt alloy electrocatalyst for ORR. After pyrolysis, nano-porous carbon is obtained with well dispersed Pt/Pt alloy nanoparticles (˜ 3 nm). This catalyst shows superior performance and stability in acidic medium against the commercial catalyst comprising of Pt/C. In a single cell PEMFC, high peak power density value of 1067 mW. cm−2 is attained at 70 °C by using low platinum amount of 0.12 mg cm-2 on cathode. The enhanced activity and durability is credited to the synergistic impact of N-doped nano-porous carbon originated from NiCo-ZIF and the defect rich carbon support to anchor Pt/Pt alloy nanoparticles.