Carbon 107 (2016) 667e679

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Carbon
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/carbon

Platinum nanoparticles supported on nitrogen and fluorine co-doped

graphite nanofibers as an excellent and durable oxygen reduction
catalyst for polymer electrolyte fuel cells
S. Gouse Peera, A. Arunchander, A.K. Sahu*
CSIR e Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Madras Unit, CSIR Madras Complex, Taramani, Chennai 600 113, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Nitrogen and fluorine co-doped graphite nanofibers (NFeGNFs) are explored as highly corrosion-
Received 29 February 2016 resistant support materials and investigated for their possible interaction with Pt as an efficient oxy-
Received in revised form gen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst in an acidic medium. The Pt/NFeGNF catalyst exhibits enhanced
7 June 2016
ORR behavior with greater electrochemical stability, which is exclusively attributed to the simultaneous
Accepted 9 June 2016
presence of N and F heteroatoms, which induces charge delocalization in the GNF matrix based on the
Available online 22 June 2016
electronegativity difference between carbon and heteroatoms. This facilitates a uniform deposition of Pt
nanoparticles over NFeGNFs and interaction between Pt nanoparticles and the GNF support matrix. The
Pt/NFeGNF catalyst was subjected to 10,000 repeated potential cycles between 0 and 1.05 V in acidic
media, resulting in a 30-mV loss in ORR activity, compared to the activity loss of about 200 mV for
commercial Pt/C catalysts. The carbon corrosion and catalyst stability are also determined with more
stringent corrosive test cycles, that is, maintaining the potential of the cell as high as 1.4 V for 180 s and
later decreasing it to 0.6 V for 30 s versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) for 500 cycles, mimicking
the actual conditions of operating fuel cells. Under these harsh corrosive conditions, the Pt/NFeGNF
catalyst displayed excellent stability with only a 90-mV loss in E1/2 in relation to the 270-mV loss in E1/2
for commercial Pt/C catalysts. While evaluating the performance of the Pt/NFeGNF catalyst in a polymer
electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), a peak power density of 867 mW cm
2 was achieved with a
minimal Pt loading of 0.1 mg cm
2, which demonstrates the potential application of this catalyst as a
cathode catalyst in fuel cell reactions.
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction decrease in catalytic activity and PEMFC performance. Acidic

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) usually occurs at the cathode
of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC), which is catalyzed by high
Pt loading to minimize the over potential loss. In order to reduce
the weight, volume, and cost of a PEMFC stack, several studies have
focused on lowering the Pt amount in PEMFC electrodes [1]. Pt
nanoparticles supported on carbon (Pt/C) represents a state-of-the-
art ORR catalyst that essentially contributes to the overall efficiency
of the fuel cell. However, degradation of the Pt/C catalyst, as a
consequence of carbon corrosion, is primarily responsible for the
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: aksahu@cecri.res.in, akhilakumar2008@gmail.com
(A.K. Sahu).
environment, oxygen atmosphere, and sudden increase in cathodic
potential >1.2 V during the start-up/shutdown process greatly in-
crease the carbon corrosion, by which Pt nanoparticles agglomerate
and detach from the carbon support, thereby decreasing catalytic
activity [2e6].
To date, the most popular support material used has been
Vulcan XC-72 carbon due to its suitable specific surface area and
high electronic conductivity. However, due to several shortcomings
in terms of durability of this support material, studies have focused
on developing alternative catalyst supports, such as carbon nano-
tubes [7e9], carbon nanofibers [10e17], mesoporous carbon
[18e22] and graphene alone or in combination with other doped
atoms, to enhance both the catalytic activity and durability
[23e26]. Among all carbon supports discussed here, graphite
nanofibers (GNFs) are promising in terms of their unique fibrous

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2016.06.021
0008-6223/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
668 S.G. Peera et al. / Carbon 107 (2016) 667e679
structure, high degree of graphitization, and the tendency of
interaction of metal nanoparticles with GNF surface during catalyst
synthesis [27]. Prior to the impregnation of Pt nanoparticles, GNFs
are usually surface-functionalized by strong oxidizing acids to
introduce surface-bound polar hydroxyl and carboxylic acid groups
on the GNF surface [28]. However, the acid oxidation inevitably
leads to problems such as structural damage, loss in electrical
conductivity, and carbon corrosion of GNFs due to the highly
oxidized surface.
One of the best ways to functionalize GNF and to improve the
interaction of metal precursors is by doping with heteroatoms, such
as nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), boron (B), sulfur (S), and fluorine
(F), into the GNF matrix [29e31]. Heteroatom doping to the GNF
matrix induces catalytic active centers and the resulting GNFs are
often considered promising candidates as metal-free ORR catalysts.
The mechanism involves the electronegativity difference between
the heteroatom and GNF, which creates atomic charge density/spin
density distribution on adjacent carbon atoms serving as ORR
active sites [32]. This strong electronegativity difference in the GNF
matrix also facilitates metalesupport interaction and acts as a
tapping state to help prevent Pt detachment. Especially, N doping
effectively prevents the agglomeration of Pt nanoparticles through
the formation of NePt bonds with the support [31,33e35]. More-
over, fluorination of the GNF induces CeF bonds, which modify the
electronic density of surrounding carbon atoms and also increase
the thermal and electrochemical stability of Pt nanoparticles under
fuel cell operating conditions [36,37]. Very recently, we have syn-
thesized N and F co-doped graphene catalyst (NeF/GNF) derived
from GNF as a metal-free catalyst and found enhanced activity to-
wards ORR in acidic electrolyte without any loss in its catalytic
activity up to 20,000 repeated potential cycles [38]. F doping into
N-doped GNFs structurally transforms GNFs into graphene sheets
with many open-edge active sites suitable for adsorption and
subsequent reduction of O2 molecules. The existence of pyridinic N,
graphitic N, and semi-ionic CeF bonds in the NeF/GNF catalyst was
found to enhance the ORR activity and deliver a peak power density
of 165 mW cm
2 in a real H2eO2 fuel cell at 80  C and 2-bar
pressure in our earlier work [38].
Due to the promising ORR activity and durability of the NeF/
GNF catalyst, the present study focuses on further enhancing the
catalytic activity and PEMFC power output by impregnating Pt
nanoparticles in the NeF/GNF catalyst and using very less Pt
loading in the cathode electrode. Pt was impregnated in N/GNFs
and NF/GNFs, and the catalytic behavior along with the PEMFC
performance was investigated in detail. Among all the catalysts
developed, the Pt/NFeGNF catalyst exhibits the greatest electro-
chemical active surface area (ECSA), kinetic current, and mass ac-
tivity, which is exclusively attributed to the synergistic effect of N
and F co-doped into the GNF surface and their specific interaction
with the Pt nanoparticles. The Pt/NFeGNF catalyst was subjected to
10,000 repeated potential cycles in acidic media (aqueous 0.5 M
HClO4 solution), showing only a 30-mV loss in ORR activity,
compared to the activity loss of about 200 mV in the case of com-
mercial Pt/C catalysts. More stringent corrosive test cycles were
also performed maintaining the cell at a higher potential of ~1.4 V
for 180 s and later decreasing it to 0.6 V for 30 s versus reversible
hydrogen electrode (RHE) for 500 cycles to investigate carbon
corrosion and the suitability of the catalyst; the Pt/NFeGNF catalyst
was found to have excellent durability compared to commercial Pt/
C catalysts. While evaluating the performance of the Pt/NFeGNF
catalyst in the PEMFC, a peak power density of 867 mW cm
2 at a
load current density of 2008 mA cm
2 was achieved with a minimal
Pt loading of 0.1 mg cm
2 at a cell temperature of 70  C and 2-bar
absolute pressure.
2. Experimental section
2.1. Materials
GNFs (diameter 80e200 nm, length 5e20 mm) were purchased
from Sigma-Aldrich. Chloroplatinic acid, ethylene glycol (EG),
ethanol, and isopropyl alcohol (IPA) were obtained from Acros Or-
ganics. Pt/C (40 wt% Pt on Vulcan XC-72 R carbon) was obtained
from Alfa Aesar (Johnson Matthey Ltd.). All chemicals were used as
received. Deionized (DI) water (18.4 MU cm) used for the experi-
ments was produced by a Millipore system.
2.2. N doping and NeF co-doping to GNF and deposition of Pt
nanoparticles
N-doped GNF (N/GNF) and NeF-co-doped GNF (NF/GNF) cata-
lysts were synthesized by a process similar to our previous report
[38]. Melamine (C6H3N6) and ammonium fluoride (NH4F) were
considered as the nitrogen and fluorine source, respectively, for the
preparation of doped catalysts. For the N/GNF catalyst, the mass
ratio of GNF and C6H3N6 was optimized to 1:20; for the NeF-co-
doped GNF catalyst, the optimized amount of C6H3N6 and NH4F was
as reported earlier. The resulting samples were pyrolyzed at
1000  C for 1 h under a N2 atmosphere.
Pt nanoparticles were deposited on pristine GNF (Pt/GNF) and
heteroatom-doped GNF catalysts (Pt/NeGNF and Pt/NFeGNF) by
the EG reduction method. Briefly, GNF, NeGNF, and NFeGNF sup-
ports were separately suspended in EG solution and ultrasonicated
to form an ink. Chloroplatinic acid dissolved in EG solution was
added dropwise to this prepared ink under vigorous stirring for 2 h.
The pH was adjusted between 9 and 10 by adding aqueous 0.5 M
NaOH solution drop wise, and the mixture was heated at 140  C in
an oil bath for 6 h for the complete reduction of Pt precursors. The
product was filtered and washed copiously with DI water. The
resulting Pt/GNF, Pt/NeGNF, and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts were dried at
80  C under vacuum for 12 h. Pt loadings of ~20 wt% were achieved
for all the catalysts.
2.3. Physico-electrochemical characterizations
Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns for all the Pt-supported
catalysts were obtained on a Philips Pan Analytical X-ray diffrac-
tometer using CuKa radiation of wavelength 1.54 Å. X-ray photo-
electron spectroscopy (XPS, Thermo Fisher Scientific, ESCALAB 250
XPS system) with a monochromated Al Ka source at 15 keV and
150 W was used to identify the presence of heteroatoms and the
binding energy (BE) of different species in the catalysts with their
interaction to Pt nanoparticles. Pt particle size and distribution in
the catalysts were analyzed using a transmission electron micro-
scope (TEM) (Model: Tecnai 20 G2). For these measurements, the
samples were suspended in acetone with ultrasonic dispersion for
3 min. Subsequently, a drop of the suspension was deposited on a
carbon-coated copper grid and allowed to dry. Morphological im-
ages of Pt/NFeGNF catalysts and mapping of the elements were
also studied under a high-resolution scanning electron microscope
(Model: FEI Quanta FEG 200).
Electrochemical tests on the catalysts were performed using a
rotating-disk electrode (RDE) apparatus connected to a potentiostat
(Biologic, model VSP/VMP 3B-20) at 25  C. A glassy carbon (GC) disk
with a geometric area of 0.071 cm2 was used as a substrate. A
catalyst (Pt/GNF, Pt/NeGNF, and Pt/NFeGNF) suspension was ob-
tained by adding 2 mg of the catalyst to 500 mL of water followed by
ultrasonication for 30 min. A 3.5-mL aliquot of the above dispersed
suspension was transferred onto the GC disk to obtain a Pt loading
of 20 mg cm
2. Then, 5 mL of 0.05 wt% Nafion solution was dropped
 S.G. Peera et al. / Carbon 107 (2016) 667e679 669

Pt/NF-GNF further sonicated for 1 h and coated on top of the cathode electrode
C1s O1s until a Pt loading of 0.10 mg cm
2 was obtained. For the anode,
N1s F1s
20 wt% commercial Pt/C was used with 7 wt% Nafion until a Pt
Pt 4f
loading of 0.10 mg cm
2 was achieved. MEAs were obtained by
sandwiching the pretreated Nafion-212 membrane between the
Intensity (a.u.)

cathode and the anode, which were then subjected to hot

C1s compaction under a pressure of 20 kg cm
2 at 130  C for 3 min [39].
N1s O1s Pt/N-GNF
MEAs were coupled with Teflon gas-sealing gaskets and placed in
Pt 4f single-cell test fixtures with a parallel serpentine flow field
machined on graphite plates. The galvanostatic polarization data
were obtained using a fuel cell test station (Biologic: FCT-150 S)
C1s with gaseous H2 (80% RH) and gaseous O2 (80% RH) to the anode
and cathode of the polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) at a flow
O1s Pt/GNF rate of 525 and 650 mL min
1, respectively. All the MEAs were
Pt 4f evaluated with an active area of 25 cm2 in PEFCs at a cell temper-
ature of 70  C with an absolute pressure of 2 bar on both the anode
and cathode sides.
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Binding Energy (eV) 3. Results and discussion

Fig. 1. XPS survey spectra for Pt/GNF, Pt/NeGNF, and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts.
onto the catalyst and allowed to dry under ambient condition. Pt
wire and saturated calomel electrode (SCE) were used as the
counter and reference electrodes, respectively. All potentials are
reported in terms of the RHE scale for convenience unless other-
wise stated. Cyclic voltammograms (CVs) were recorded in the
potential range between 0 and 1.05 V at a scan rate of 50 mV s
1 in
0.5 M HClO4 aqueous solution purged with N2 gas to remove dis-
solved O2. The region for hydrogen adsorption between 0.05 and
0.4 V on the backward potential scan was used to estimate the
ECSA. Linear sweep voltammograms (LSVs) for ORR activity mea-
surements were performed using an RDE in aqueous 0.5 M HClO4
solution saturated with O2 at a scan rate of 5 mV s
1 at 1600 ro-
tations per minute. To test the stability and durability of the cata-
lysts, CVs were repeated by potential cycling for 10,000 cycles, and
the ECSA values were recorded for every 2000th cycle. LSVs were
also recorded before and after 10,000 cycles to evaluate the ORR
behavior of the catalysts. For evaluating the stability of the catalyst
support, a more stringent test method was used by maintaining the
catalyst at a higher potential of 1.4 V for 150 s and then decreasing
the potential to 0.60 V for 30 s to complete a cycle. This process was
repeated for 500 cycles, and the CV and LSV data were recorded for
all the catalysts. The experiments were also performed with com-
mercial Pt/C (20 wt%) catalysts for comparison.
2.4. Fabrication of membrane electrode assemblies and fuel cell
performance evaluation
Commercial SGL DC 35 gas diffusion layers (GDLs) were used as
anode and cathode electrodes for membrane electrode assembly
(MEA) fabrication. For the reaction layers, the prepared catalysts
were dispersed in IPA and ultrasonicated for 30 min, followed by
the addition of 30 wt% Nafion solution. The resultant slurries were
Fig. 1 shows the XPS survey spectra for the catalysts Pt/GNF, Pt/
NeGNF, and Pt/NFeGNF. All the spectra of catalysts show peaks
corresponding to C, O, and Pt. Besides these peaks, the Pt/NeGNF
and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts show the presence of N and N, F peaks,
respectively. This confirms the successful doping of N and N, F el-
ements into the hexagonal graphitic framework of the carbon lat-
tice in the Pt/NeGNF and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts, respectively. The
atomic percentages of doped nitrogen and fluorine atoms in the
matrix of NeGNF and NFeGNF and the chemical states of the
different species of N and F in the doped catalysts are listed in
Table 1.
The size of Pt nanoparticles in Pt/GNF, Pt/NeGNF, and Pt/
NFeGNF catalysts were assessed with the help of XRD analysis. The
XRD patterns for Pt/GNF, Pt/N-GNF, and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts are
shown in Fig. 2, and the diffraction peaks at 2q of 39.8 , 46.2 , and
67.4 are assigned to Pt (1 1 1), Pt (2 1 0), and Pt (2 2 0), respectively.
All the Pt diffraction peaks are found to be broadened in the case of
the Pt/NeGNF and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts compared to Pt/GNF, which
indicates a reduced Pt crystallite size for Pt/NeGNF and Pt/NFeGNF
catalyst. The average Pt crystallite size is calculated using the
DebyeeScherrer formula considering Pt (1 1 1) peaks, which are
about 5.7, 4.5, and 3.1 nm for Pt/GNF, Pt/NeGNF, and Pt/NFeGNF
catalysts, respectively.
Fig. 3 shows the TEM images for Pt/GNF, Pt/NeGNF, and Pt/
NFeGNF catalysts. In the case of the Pt/GNF catalyst, severe ag-
glomerations of Pt nanoparticles are seen over the GNF surface, and
many regions of the GNF are left without any Pt nanoparticles
(Fig. 3a and b). This is due to the hydrophobic and inert nature of
GNF, which lacks sufficient surface functional groups to anchor
metal nanoparticles. By contrast, nanosized Pt particles are wide-
spread and uniformly dispersed over the GNF surface in the case of
Pt/NeGNF and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts (Fig. 3c and g). This is because
GNF undergoes surface functionalization with N doping, which acts
as an anchoring site for Pt nanoparticles and facilitates the uniform
dispersion of metal nanoparticles on the NeGNF surface [40e42].

Table 1
Atomic percentage of nitrogen and fluorine and chemical states of the different species of N and F in the doped catalysts.

Catalyst N (at. %) F (at. %) Pyridinic N binding Graphitic N binding PteN bonding binding Ionic eCeF binding Semi-ionic eCeF binding
energy (eV) energy (eV) energy (eV) energy (eV) energy (eV)

NeGNF 4.5 0 398.28 400.25 e e e

NFeGNF 13 1.1 398.18 400.34 e 685.00 687.67
Pt/NFeGNF 397.95 399.93 397.2 684.75 685.95
670 S.G. Peera et al. / Carbon 107 (2016) 667e679

Pt (1 1 1) Further, high-resolution (HR)-TEM images of the Pt/NFeGNF cata-

Pt/GNF lyst are shown in Fig. 3g, wherein clear lattice fringes of Pt nano-
particles can be seen with the d-spacing of 0.226 nm being
Pt (2 1 0)
Pt (2 2 0) attributed to the (1 1 1) plane of Pt nanoparticles. The Pt nano-
particle size distributions of all the catalysts are represented in the
form of histograms, as shown in Fig. 3hej. Although all the catalysts
Intensity (a.u.)

Pt (1 1 1)
have more or less similar average Pt particle size, the Pt/NeGNF and
Pt/N-GNF Pt/NFeGNF catalysts show comparatively smaller Pt nanoparticles,
Pt (2 1 0) results in large Pt electro chemical surface area (ECSA) available for
Pt (2 2 0)
the ORR. Moreover, N doping into GNF creates the carbon active
sites adjacent to the N atoms based on the charge delocalization
Pt (1 1 1) principles. These carbon active sites are also prone toward O2
adsorption and their subsequent reduction. Introduction of F into
Pt/NF-GNF
Pt (2 1 0) N/GNF opens up the fibrous structure, which is then transformed
Pt (2 2 0) into wrinkled graphene sheets (Fig. 3e) with many folded active
sites, as also observed in our earlier reports and validated by den-
sity functional theory (DFT) study [38].
30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 Fig. 4 shows the CVs of Pt-deposited catalysts in 0.5 M HClO4
2 theta (degree) aqueous solution with a scan rate of 50 mV s
1. All the catalysts
show clear H2 adsorption/desorption peaks in the region between
Fig. 2. Comparative XRD pattern of Pt/GNF, Pt/NeGNF, and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts. 0 and 0.25 V and redox peaks associated with PteO/PteOH at a

Fig. 3. TEM images for (aeb) Pt/GNF, (ced) Pt/NeGNF, and (eeg) Pt/NFeGNF catalysts. The particle size distribution curves of (h) Pt/GNF, (i) Pt/NeGNF, and (j) Pt/NFeGNF catalysts.
 S.G. Peera et al. / Carbon 107 (2016) 667e679 671

Fig. 4. Cyclic voltammograms for (a) Pt/C, Pt/GNF, Pt/NeGNF, and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts recorded at 25  C in 0.5 M HClO4 solution at a scan rate of 50 mV s
1; (b) oxide and hydroxide
potential region of the catalysts; (c) hydroxyl surface coverage (WOH ads) of the catalysts calculated based on the eOHads peak obtained from the CV curves.

Fig. 5. Linear sweep voltammograms for (a) Pt/C, Pt/GNF, Pt/NeGNF, and Pt/NFeGNF at 1600 rpm in O2-saturated aqueous 0.5 M HClO4 solution at a scan rate of 5 mV s
1. (b) Mass
activities for Pt/C, Pt/GNF, Pt/NeGNF, and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts.

potential above 0.6 V. An enhanced charge generation is observed
for Pt/NeGNF and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts, which indicates that a large
amount of Hþ ions are adsorbed/desorbed on these catalysts
compared with Pt/GNF and Pt/C. This enhanced charge is directly
associated with the volume of Pt nanoparticles exposed for the
chemical reaction, usually termed as electrochemical active surface
area (ECSA) of the catalyst. Accordingly, the ECSA values for all the
catalysts are calculated from the charge corresponding to the H2
desorption region in the reverse scan of the voltammograms, which
are found to be 75, 71, 115, and 124 m [2] g
1 Pt for Pt/C, Pt/GNF, Pt/
NeGNF, and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts, respectively. Improved ECSA for
the Pt/NeGNF and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts is exclusively attributed to
the uniform deposition of Pt nanoparticles over the doped GNF
surface. It is worth noting that not only does the ECSA determine
the activity of the catalysts but the potential at which PteO for-
mation and its subsequent reduction occur is also responsible for
the intrinsic activity of the catalyst. Generally, the onset potential of
PteO species determines the stability of Pt species, and the PteOH
reduction potential determines the kinetics of the ORR reaction.
Fig. 4b shows the enlarged portion of the redox peaks of catalysts. It
is seen that the onset of PteO species for the Pt/NeGNF and Pt/
NFeGNF catalyst appears at potentials of ~0.85 V, larger than the Pt/
GNF and Pt/C catalysts. Usually, the oxidation resistance of Pt
nanoparticles increases with increased onset potential of the PteO
672 S.G. Peera et al. / Carbon 107 (2016) 667e679

Fig. 6. XPS deconvoluted spectra for (a) N1s and (b) F2p NFeGNF catalyst; (c) N1s, (d) F2p, and (e) C1s of Pt/NFeGNF catalyst; (f) combined Pt 4f spectra of Pt/GNF, Pt/N-GNF, and Pt/
NFeGNF catalyst.

species, which makes the Pt nanoparticles less oxophilic [43,44].
However, the PteOH reduction peak of the Pt/NFeGNF catalyst
shows the highest onset potential of ~0.84 V among all the cata-
lysts, indicating the higher intrinsic ORR activity of the former.
Further PteO formation and PteOH reduction for the Pt/NFeGNF
catalyst occurs almost at the same potential. This indicates that
oxide formation and reduction occur quickly, refreshing the Pt
catalyst surface for faster ORR kinetics [45]. Fig. 4c represents the
adsorption of hydroxyl species (eOH % coverage), which is calcu-
lated from the eOHads peak region in the CV backward scan. The OH
% coverage was obtained by normalizing the hydroxyl adsorption
charges to the ECSA of the respective catalysts. It is seen that the Pt/
NFeGNF catalyst shows lower eOH % coverage in relation to the
others, which confirms weak adsorption/quick desorption of the
eOH species, thus enhancing the ORR activity. Further, the oxo-
philic nature of the NeGNF surface could provide charged species,
which help remove oxide/OH species from the Pt nanoparticles,
and hence enhances the ORR kinetics [30]. Moreover, well-
dispersed Pt nanoparticles and their close interaction with the
support material provide a more facile path for the electron
transfer, thus boosting the ORR kinetics.
Fig. 5a shows the LSVs recorded in 0.5 M HClO4 electrolyte at a
scan rate of 5 mV s
1. The obtained LSVs of the catalysts illustrate
coherent results with the CV data. The Pt/NFeGNF catalyst shows
the highest ORR onset potentials of 0.98 V among all the catalysts.
Further, the Pt/NFeGNF catalyst shows much steeper kinetic curves
in the region 0.8e1.05 V, indicating significant improvement in the
ORR activity for this catalyst. The observed ORR activity is in the
order of Pt/GNF < Pt/C < Pt/NeGNF < Pt/NFeGNF. Further, RDE
polarization plots corrected for mass transport and kinetic pa-
rameters, such as kinetic current (ik) and mass activity (im), for all
the catalysts are measured at 0.9 V, as shown in Fig. 5b. The ik
 S.G. Peera et al. / Carbon 107 (2016) 667e679
values for Pt/C, Pt/GNF, Pt/NeGNF, and Pt/NFeGNF are found to be

0.19,
0.24,
0.36, and
0.81 mA cm
2, and the mass activities
are 9.5, 12.2, 18.3, and 40.8 A g
1 Pt, respectively. The mass activities
of Pt/NeGNF and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts are, respectively, 1.9 and 4.3
times higher than that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst. The excel-
lent performance of the Pt/NFeGNF catalyst is attributed to the
synergistic ORR activity of N and F dopants and their interaction
with Pt nanoparticles. Further, highly dispersed smaller Pt nano-
particles are also responsible for the increase in ORR activity of the
Pt/NFeGNF catalyst by increasing the ECSA available for the elec-
trochemical reaction.
The XPS spectra of NF/GNF, Pt/GNF, Pt/NeGNF, and Pt/NFeGNF
catalysts are shown in Fig. 6. To explore the interaction of the
support (NF/GNF) with the Pt nanoparticles, the XPS spectra of N
and F were compared with the Pt/NFeGNF catalyst (Fig. 6a,b). The N
spectra of the Pt/NFeGNF catalyst were deconvoluted into three
different peaks at the BEs of 398.8, 399.1, and 400.2 eV corre-
sponding to pyridinic N, pyrrolic N, and graphitic N, respectively
(Fig. 6c). Pyridinic N refers to N atoms at the edges of graphene
planes which bonded to two carbon atoms, pyrrolic N atoms are
linked to five membered heterocyclic rings and bonded to two
carbon atoms, and in the case of graphitic N, the N is bonded to
three carbon atoms and often called substituted N or quaternary N.
The enhanced ORR activity of Pt/NFeGNF catalyst in this study is
attributed to presence of all forms of N species discussed above. An
additional peak is also observed at relatively lower BE of 397.2 eV
and is attributed to N atoms bonded to Pt nanoparticles (PteN
bonding) [31,46,47]. Since, pyridinic-N presents at the edges of
graphene sheets, the adsorption energy of Pt on graphene is
enhanced at the edge locations due to dangling bonds and allows
for the formation of stable PteN bonds at the edges of graphene
sheets [48]. Holmes et al., reports the interaction of Pt with types of
N atoms and found that Pt ripening is unfavorable with pyridinic N
type compared to other form of N atoms [40]. Hence, the presence
of pyridinic N and their interaction with Pt in the catalyst Pt/
NFeGNF primarily contributes in enhancing the ORR activity in the
present study. Fig. 6d shows deconvoluted F spectra which contain
two different chemical states of F, one at 684.8 and the other at
685.85 eV corresponds to ionic-F and semi-ionic-F bonds with
carbon respectively. It is also proposed in our earlier study that
semi-ionic CeF bond is more active towards the ORR which po-
larizes the adjacent carbon atoms to a greater extent especially in
the presence of N atoms [38]. Hence, the existence of semi-ionic
eCeF bonds is responsible for enhanced activity of the Pt/
NFeGNF catalyst. Moreover, presence of F greatly enhances the
durability of Pt catalyst, as F is more stable at the edges than in the
interior region makes the edge positions of carbon supports stable
and are resistant to carbon corrosion [49]. Hence, the combined
existence of pyridinic-N and stable edge occupation of F contributes
to the enhanced durability of Pt nanoparticles for Pt/NFeGNF
catalyst [50]. To understand the changes in chemical states of N and
F spectra in the NFeGNF support before and after Pt decoration,
XPS spectra for pristine NFeGNF sample is shown in Fig. 6a & b
based on our earlier report for fair comparison. The corresponding
BE values are also provided in Table 1. From the data, there is no
significant change in the BE of N spectra is observed between
NFeGNF and Pt/NFeGNF catalyst. However, there is a notable
change in the F spectra is observed. The BE of semi-ionic CeF bond
is shifted to the lower value in case of Pt/NFeGNF catalyst (BE of
NFeGNF is 687.67 eV; BE of Pt/NFeGNF is 685.95 eV). This shift in
BE may attribute to the specific interaction of Pt nanoparticles with
the F atoms in the Pt/NFeGNF catalyst and helps enhancing ORR
activity and durability of Pt/NFeGNF catalyst. The carbon spectrum
of the Pt/NFeGNF catalysts is deconvoluted to five peaks corre-
sponding to different bonding configurations of carbon as shown in
673
Fig. 6e. The peaks located at 283.6, 284.2, 284.9, 285.8 and 288.7 eV
corresponds to sp3 carbon, sp2 carbon, eCeN, eCeO and eCeF
bonding respectively. Appearance of eCeN and eCeF in the spectra
confirms the doping of N and F in to the carbon matrix [51,52]. Pt4f
spectra of Pt/GNF, Pt/N-GNF and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts are shown in
Fig. 6f. Pt/GNF catalyst possesses two peaks at 71.80 and 75.08 eV
corresponding to the spin-splitting of 4f7/2 and 4f5/2 regions of
metallic Pt . The metallic peaks down shifted to lower BE in case of
Pt/N-GNF and these peaks are further downshifted for Pt/NFeGNF
catalyst. This observation clearly indicates specific interaction be-
tween Pt nanoparticles and NeF doped carbon supports as a result
of electron donation from N and F to the Pt [30,34,53]. This down
shift in BE for Pt/NFeGNF catalyst is also due to the lowering of Pt d-
band center relative to Fermi level which facilitates reduction of O2
molecules from the Pt surface [54e57]. In the present case, lower
BE for Pt/N-GNF and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts are ascribed to this
phenomenon and weaken the eOH adsorption species from Pt
surface facilitating faster ORR kinetics [58]. This is also in consistent
with the % eOH coverage from the CVs (Fig. 4c).
Fig. 7 shows the fuel cell polarization and power density curves
for the MEAs with Pt/GNF, Pt/C, Pt/NeGNF, and Pt/NFeGNF as
cathode catalysts at a loading of 0.1 mg cm
2, evaluated under
identical experimental conditions. A significant enhancement in
the activation region is observed for the PEMFCs with the Pt/
NeGNF and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts. As commercial Pt/C is used as an
anode catalyst for all the MEAs, any variation in the PEMFC per-
formance is attributed only to the ORR kinetic behavior of the
cathode catalyst. The improved ORR activity and superior perfor-
mance of the PEMFCs comprising the Pt/NeGNF and Pt/NFeGNF
catalyst are clearly established in the polarization data. The ob-
tained PEFC performances are in the order Pt/NFeGNF > Pt/
NeGNF > Pt/C > Pt/GNF catalysts with the peak power densities of
867, 775, 561, and 548 mW cm
2 at 70  C and 2-bar pressure. The
enhanced power density of the Pt/NFeGNF catalyst is attributed to
the improved dispersion of Pt nanoparticles and their interaction
with the N and F dopants of the support as described earlier.
To evaluate the long-term stability of all the catalysts, a dura-
bility test was performed under potential cycling between 0 and
1.05 V up to 10,000 cycles at a sweep rate of 50 mV s
1, and the CV
responses are presented at every 2000 potential cycles as shown in
Fig. 8aed. All the catalysts exhibit reduction in the hydrogen
Fig. 7. Fuel cell polarization and performance curves for H2eO2 PEFCs comprising Pt/C,
Pt/GNF, Pt/N-GNF, and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts as cathode catalysts at 70  C and 2 bar-
absolute pressure with gaseous H2 (80% RH) and gaseous O2 (80% RH) to the anode and
cathode of the PEFCs, respectively.
674 S.G. Peera et al. / Carbon 107 (2016) 667e679
Fig. 8. Cyclic voltammograms for (a) Pt/C, (b) Pt/GNF, (c) Pt/NeGNF, and (d) Pt/NFeGNF catalysts by repeated CV cycling test; (e) loss in ECSA values for all the catalysts with respect
to the potential cycling and (f) with respect to each cycle.
adsorption regions, indicating a decrease in ECSA with respect to
potential cycling [59,60]. The ECSA values are normalized to their
corresponding initial value, and the percentage loss of ECSA for all
the catalysts is plotted with the number of potential cycling shown
in Fig. 8e. For the Pt/C and Pt/GNF catalysts, the loss in ECSA after
10,000 potential cycles is ~67%, whereas the losses in ECSA are
about 29% and 12% for Pt/NeGNF and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts,
respectively. Based on these findings, it is evident that the degra-
dation rate of the Pt/NFeGNF catalyst is greatly reduced compared
to that of the commercial Pt/C and Pt/N-GNF catalysts. The average
rate of surface area loss is 4.8, 3.9, 3.3, and 1.1 (10
3) m2 g
1
cycle
1 for the Pt/GNF, Pt/C, Pt/NeGNF, and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts,
respectively (Fig. 8f). This indicates that the Pt/NFeGNF catalyst has
a significant longer lifetime and is about four times more durable
than the commercial Pt/C and Pt/GNF catalysts in 0.5 M HClO4
acidic medium. To understand the O2 reduction behavior, LSVs are
also conducted after 10,000 potential cycles as shown in Fig. 9aed.
The half-wave potentials shifted negatively by 200, 180, 130, and
30 mV for the Pt/C, Pt/GNF, Pt/NeGNF, and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts,
respectively. The calculated rate of voltage loss is 1.8, 1.2, 0.9, and
0.2 mV h
1 for the Pt/GNF, Pt/C, Pt/NeGNF, and Pt/NFeGNF cata-
lysts, respectively (Fig. 9e). This remarkable stability of the Pt/
NFeGNF catalyst is solely attributed to the ameliorating effect of N
and F heteroatoms in the graphene matrix and the interaction of Pt
nanoparticles with the graphene supports. Moreover, the presence
of CeF bonds also enhances the electrochemical stability of Pt
nanoparticles under fuel cell operating conditions. As a result, the
aggregation, dissolution, and detachment of Pt nanoparticles are
prevented.
To further evaluate the catalyst support stability, a more strin-
gent test method is used by maintaining the potential of the cata-
lyst as high as 1.4 V for 150 s and then decreasing the potential to
0.60 V for 30 s to complete a cycle [61]. This process was repeated
for 500 cycles for the Pt/C, Pt/NeGNF, and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts and
 S.G. Peera et al. / Carbon 107 (2016) 667e679 675

Fig. 9. Linear sweep voltammograms of the catalysts before and after the stability tests: (a) Pt/C, (b) Pt/GNF, (c) Pt/NeGNF, and (d) Pt/NFeGNF catalyst at 1600 rpm in O2-saturated
aq. 0.5 M HClO4 solution at a scan rate of 5 mV s
1; (e) rate of ORR activity degradation with respect to time.

their corresponding CV and LSV data were recorded as shown in atmosphere.

Fig. 10aef. This testing protocol mimics the actual conditions of
operating fuel cells, wherein the sudden increase in the potential
occurs frequently during the start-up and shutdown process of a
PEMFC, which leads to severe carbon corrosion [62e65]. After 500
cycles under this condition, a significant reduction in the ECSA
value is observed for the commercial Pt/C catalyst with a drastic
negative shift in ORR behavior in terms of onset, half-wave po-
tentials, and limiting current regions (Fig. 10a and b). By contrast,
the Pt/NeGNF and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts showed greatly enhanced
electrochemical behavior after 500 potential cycles. The losses of
ECSA for the Pt/C, Pt/NeGNF, and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts were found
to be 73%, 47%, and 35%, respectively. The reduction in the ORR half-
wave potential of the Pt/C, Pt/NeGNF, and Pt/NFeGNF catalysts
were found to be 270, 120, and 90 mV, respectively. The remarkable
ORR activity and stability of the Pt/NFeGNF catalyst are attributed
to the stability of the N and F-doped graphene support that pre-
vents Pt nanoparticle agglomerations. These results indicate that
the Pt/NFeGNF catalyst could be an ideal catalyst in a real fuel cell
In order to investigate Pt agglomeration and carbon support
corrosion after 500 cycles of the corrosive test, the Pt/C and Pt/
NFeGNF catalysts were collected form the GC electrode and sub-
jected to TEM analysis shown in Fig. 11. After 500 cycles, in the case
of the Pt/C catalyst, the original globular carbon support
morphology is severely affected, which leads to Pt particle size
growth, particle sintering, and agglomeration. By contrast, in the
case of the Pt/NFeGNF catalyst, Pt particles are well separated and
no sign of agglomeration is observed, except for albeit to an in-
crease in their Pt particle size. The stable carbon support is also
clearly seen in this catalyst after the durability test. Generally, the
degradation of Pt-based catalysts occurs by means of i) corrosion of
the carbon support, ii) Pt nanoparticle dissolution/agglomeration,
iii) or Pt nanoparticle detachment from the support. Less graphi-
tized carbon supports are more prone to carbon corrosion, whereas
highly graphitized carbon supports or un-functionalized carbon
supports decrease the stability of Pt nanoparticles due to the poor
bonding strength between Pt and the support materials. The
676 S.G. Peera et al. / Carbon 107 (2016) 667e679

Fig. 10. Cyclic voltammograms of (a) Pt/C, (c) Pt/NeGNF, and (e) Pt/NFeGNF recorded after 500 cycles of test studies. CV recorded at a scan rate of 50 mV s
1 in 0.5 M HClO4
electrolyte. LSV curves for (b) Pt/C, (d) Pt/NeGNF, and (f) Pt/NFeGNF catalysts recorded after 500-cycle test. LSVs were recorded at a scan rate of 5 mV s
1 in 0.5 M HClO4 electrolyte.

dissolution and/or agglomeration (Ostwald ripening) of platinum
nanoparticles occurs either by migration of Pt ions through the
ionomer in the catalyst or by Pt dissolution and subsequent
deposition on neighboring particles. Generally, larger Pt nano-
particles are more stable against the dissolution phenomenon
because of their low surface energy, whereas very small-sized Pt
nanoparticles tend to dissolute and redeposit on the neighboring Pt
nanoparticles and attain a suitable size to minimize the surface
energy [66]. From the TEM image of Pt/NFeGNF catalysts (Fig. 11),
in addition to the presence of a graphene support layer even after
500 cycles of the corrosive test, a few larger Pt nanoparticles are
also seen. This is attributed to the very small size of the Pt nano-
particles of the Pt/NFeGNF catalyst, which are sensitive to disso-
lution and their redeposition on the adjacent Pt nanoparticles.
Although larger nanoparticles are observed, a high number of Pt
nanoparticles are still available for the ORR reaction, due to the
stable NFeGNF support, which strengthen the binding of Pt
nanoparticles with the support, thereby mitigating agglomeration.
However, for the commercial Pt/C catalyst, Pt nanoparticles are
detached from the Vulcan carbon support, as the support medium
is more prone to carbon corrosion. As a result, the active ECSA
available for ORR is reduced in the case of commercial Pt/C. The
average Pt nanoparticle size increases from an initial value of 3e5
to 4e8 nm for the Pt/C catalyst, whereas it increases from 1 to 2 to
4e8 nm in the case of the Pt/NFeGNF catalyst, after 500 cycles of
the corrosive test (Fig. 11gei). Thus, it can be concluded that the
NeF/GNF support, which has features similar to graphene, is more
resistive to carbon corrosion in an acidic medium. The Pt particles
incorporated on the surface of these support materials significantly
enhance the electrochemical ORR behavior with great stability.
The excellent activity and stability of the Pt/NFeGNF catalyst is
confirmed by the following factors: The presence of N and F atoms
 S.G. Peera et al. / Carbon 107 (2016) 667e679 677

Fig. 11. TEM images of Pt/C catalysts (aeb) before and (ced) after 500 cycles; (eef) Pt/NFeGNF catalyst after 500 cycles (1.4 V for 150 s and 0.60 V for 30 s). The average particle size
distribution curves of the catalysts (g) Pt/C, before cycling (h), Pt/C, after cycling, and (i) Pt/NFeGNF.

in graphene frameworks not only facilitates the anchoring of metal 4. Conclusions

nanoparticles but also increases its conductivity by raising the
Fermi level toward the conduction band [35,67]. Charge delocal-
ization of the NFeco-doped graphene also facilitates the interaction
of Pt nanoparticles with the support materials, as explained by Gao
et al. [68] It has been reported that the delocalized electrons in the
p orbital of p sites on graphene overlap with the Pt d orbitals due to
p backbonding, in which the electron in the Pt d orbital is shared
with a p* antibonding orbitals of the graphene support, inducing a
strong metalesupport interaction. This p backbonding phenome-
non is further facilitated at the location of the carbon atoms
substituted by N. Hence, the p back bonding effect will be much
stronger in the case of NF-co-doped graphene, facilitating strong
metalesupport interactions with Pt nanoparticles and favoring
strong catalyst stability. Thus, the Pt/NFeGNF catalyst serves as an
excellent ORR catalyst with a potential application as a cathode
catalyst in fuel cell reactions.
N and F co-doped GNF is explored as a highly stable support
material for the synthesis of Pt/NFeGNF catalysts for PEMFC ap-
plications. The good distribution and interactions of Pt particles
with NF/GNF help increase the ECSA and greatly promote the ORR
activity. The stability and durability of the Pt/NFeGNF catalyst in
acidic medium are determined by maintaining the cell voltage at a
higher potential of about 1.4 V followed by potential cycling,
mimicking the actual fuel cell environmental conditions. The su-
perior electrochemical behavior and durability of the Pt/NFeGNF
catalyst are solely due to the synergistic effect of the N and F co-
doped GNF surface and its specific interaction with the Pt nano-
particles. While evaluating the Pt/NFeGNF catalyst in the PEMFC, a
peak power density of 867 mW cm
2 is achieved at 70  C with a
minimal Pt loading of 0.1 mg cm
2. The excellent power density at
low Pt loading demonstrates the potential application of this
catalyst in PEFC technology, which may reduce the weight and cost
of a fuel cell stack.
678 S.G. Peera et al. / Carbon 107 (2016) 667e679
Acknowledgments
Financial support from CSIR, New Delhi, India, through the
development of advanced materials for next-generation energy
efficient devices (D-NEED) (PSC 0109) is acknowledged. The au-
thors thank Dr. V. V. Giridhar, scientist in charge, CECRI-Madras
Unit, and Dr. Vijayamohanan K. Pillai, director, CSIR-CECRI, for
their constant encouragement and support.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data related to this article can be found at http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2016.06.021.
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