Nanoscale analysis of structural and chemical changes in aged hybrid Pt/NbOx/C fuel cell catalysts

We characterize the structural and chemical changes that take place in an electrochemically tested proton-exchange fuel cell cathode material composed of platinum nanoparticles on a niobium oxide-carbon black hybrid support. Two hybrid catalysts with different niobium oxide content (5 wt% and 12 wt%) are compared at the beginning and end of potential cycling. We observe an overall increase in the particle size of the hybrid catalysts after …