Application of co and ni based nanoparticles produced in red pepper stalk extract as pem fuel cell electrocatalyst

PEM fuel cells are the most potent solution among clean energy technologies for addressing the sustainability challenge of renewable energy sources. These cells transform chemical energy into electrical energy via electrochemical processes. The high expense of Pt and Pt-based catalysts impedes PEM fuel cell technology commercialization. Furthermore, the exorbitant cost of platinum and platinum-based alloys has greatly restricted the potential uses of PEM fuel cells, mostly owing to their limited availability and inadequate electrochemical stability. In PEM fuel cells, significant optimization is also required to improve catalytic activity, along with cost-effectiveness and stability issues. The development of cost-effective, long-life, and high-performance catalysts for cathode catalysts is crucial for the practical application of PEM fuel cells. This study evaluated the activity of NiO, CoO, and CoNiO nanoparticles produced from pepper stem extract using the environmentally friendly green synthesis method as support material for the Pt/C catalyst at different cell temperatures (40, 50, 60, and 70 °C) in the PEM fuel cell. XRD, SEM, EDX, and TEM analyses were performed to determine the structural and morphological properties of the synthesized Pt-NiO/C, Pt-CoO/C, and Pt-CoNiO/C catalysts. Additionally, CV measurements were performed to determine the electrochemical properties of the synthesized catalysts. The calculation determined the electrochemical active surface areas of Pt-NiO/C, Pt-CoO/C, and PtCoNiO/C catalysts to be 107, 83, and 141 m2/gPt, respectively. It was determined that the performance of the fuel cell increased with increasing cell temperature in PEM fuel cell applications. The catalysts synthesized with a 50% Pt and 50% metal oxide ratio demonstrated better activity, with Pt-CoNiO/C > Pt-NiO/C > Pt-CoO/C > Pt/C at a cell temperature of 70 ⁰C.