Electronic States and Transport Phenomena of Pt Nanoparticle Catalysts Supported on Nb-Doped SnO2 for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

Semiconducting oxide nanoparticles are strongly influenced by surface-adsorbed molecules and tend to generate an insulating depletion layer. The interface between a noble metal and a semiconducting oxide constructs a Schottky barrier, interrupting the electron transport. In the case of a Pt catalyst supported on the semiconducting oxide Nb-doped SnO2 with a fused-aggregate network structure (Pt/Nb-SnO2) for polymer electrolyte fuel cells, the electronic conductivity increased abruptly with increasing Pt loading, going from 10–4 to 10–2 S cm–1. The Pt X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) spectra at low Pt loading amount exhibited higher binding energy than that of pristine Pt metal. The peak shift for the Pt XPS spectra was larger than that of the Pt hard X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (HAXPES) spectra. For all of the spectra, the peaks approached the binding energy of pristine Pt metal with increasing Pt loading. The Sn XPS spectral peak proved the existence of Sn metal with increasing Pt loading, and the peak intensity was larger than that for HAXPES. These spectroscopic results, together with the scanning transmission electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (STEM-EDX) spectra, proved that a PtSn alloy was deposited at the interface between Pt and Nb-SnO2 as a result of the sintering procedure under dilute hydrogen atmosphere. Both Nb spectra indicated that the oxidation state of Nb was +5 and thus that the Nb cation acts as an n-type dopant of SnO2. We conclude that the PtSn alloy at the interface between Pt and Nb-SnO2 relieved the effect of the Schottky barrier, enhanced the carrier donation from Pt to Nb-SnO2, and improved the electronic transport phenomena of Pt/Nb-SnO2.