Pulse laser deposition and sputtering of carbon-free Pt/SnO₂ electrocatalysts for PEFC

Polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) are one of the promising future power sources. Even though technologies for PEFC are mostly developed, durability of their electrocatalysts is one of the most important issues for further development. In order to improve the durability against carbon corrosion problem, we have been working on carbon-free Pt electrocatalysts using SnO ₂ and demonstrating improved durability. However, SnO ₂-supported electrocatalysts often result in lower performance mainly due to relatively high contact resistance between SnO₂ particles. In this study, an attempt has been made to develop an alternative way to fabricate the SnO₂-based cathode using pulse laser deposition (PLD) and ion plasma sputtering in order to reduce the contact resistance. Consequently, the use of the doped-SnO₂ thin layer has lowered the overpotential of cathode reactions, resulting in successful development of PEFC consisting of SnO₂-supported cathode with both high power performance and durability.