Atomic layer deposition in the preparation of Bi-metallic, platinum-based catalysts for fuell cell applications

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a thin layer synthesis method applied in this study for preparing carbon-supported mono-metallic Pt- and bi-metallic PtCo catalysts. The catalyst characterization confirmed that small metal particles with a narrow particle size distribution and high metal dispersion were obtained. The location of the metals on the surface was controlled by alternating the ALD cycles, and the formation of bi-metallic PtCo particles on the support was observed. The prepared catalysts proved to be active for methanol oxidation and oxygen reduction in an acidic media. In addition, the durability of the catalysts in electrochemical oxidation was enhanced by varying the metal cycle order in the catalyst preparation. After the deposition of Co on the catalyst, one ALD cycle of Pt favored the catalyst durability in the methanol oxidation reaction.