Researchers from the University of Akron and Toyota Research Institute of North America, along with members of the Pajarito Powder team are co-authors on a recently released article in Journal of Colloid and Interface Science,  “A Vacuum Impregnation Method for Synthesizing Octahedral Pt₂CuNi Nanoparticles on Mesoporous Carbon Support and the Oxygen Reduction Reaction Electrocatalytic Properties.”

The lead authors Dezhen Wu of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Akron (Univ. of Akron) and Hongfei Jia from the Material Research Department of Toyota Research Institute of North America (TRINA) along with their teams deposited Pt₂CuNi nano particles on Pajarito Powder’s Interconnected Mesoporous Catalyst Supports. The resulting catalyst exhibited high performance with promising durability.

The teams include Xiaochen Shen, Zhenmeng Peng, Yanbo Pan, and Libo Yao from Univ. of Akron; Li Qin Zhou and Tomoyuki Nagai from TRINA.

Barr Zulevi, CTO & President Pajarito Powder stated, “This paper is a valuable public demonstration of the performance and the robustness of our mesoporous materials and their ability to improve the function of catalysts and we look forward to further public demonstration of our materials in upcoming projects with the US Department of Energy program, FC-PAD, the Fuel Cell Consortium for Performance and Durability, which aims to enhance the performance and durability of PEM fuel cells while reducing their cost.” Funded by the US Department of Energy’s Fuel Cell Technology Office (FCTO), within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), the Fuel Cell Consortium for Performance and Durability (FC-PAD) is led by Los Alamos National Laboratories (LANL), Berkeley Lab (LBNL), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).  

The paper describes creating a highly active and stable platinum copper faceted catalyst and cites the efficacy of Mesoporous Carbon (MPC) nanomaterials, like Pajarito Powder’s Engineered Catalyst Support^TM (ECS) for use as catalyst supports. The vacuum impregnation method developed by the researchers takes greater advantage of the MPC pore structure, while controlling for size and distribution of catalyst nanoparticles. The results yielded excellent oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity and promising durability, with conclusive findings that “offer a new methodology for synthesizing nanoparticles within MPC pores, with parameter control and provide an intriguing strategy to develop new ORR catalysts using MPC support structures.”

For a limited time, you can view the paper on Science Direct, free of charge, here.

Pajarito Powder, LLC is a domestic venture-backed startup, funded by the Verge Fund, Omphalos Venture Partners and other investors, focused on developing next-generation catalysts and catalyst supports for the fuel cell and electrolyzer industries. Working with automotive OEMs, fuel cell component companies and major electrolyzer manufacturers, Pajarito Powder is an established leader in advanced catalyst and catalyst support development in rapidly accelerating clean/green hydrogen energy industries.