To meet a worldwide demand about the supply of sustainable energy and solve the environmental problems, Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is one of the promising energy conversion technologies which can be utilized in various industrial fields. Among the components of PEMFC, Pt nanoparticle on carbon (Pt/C) have been intensively studied as a catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction. However, the state-of-art Pt/C cannot meet the requirement for the long-term operation in PEMFC system owing to both Pt dissolution and sintering/particle growth on carbon support. In a view of strengthening interaction between Pt and catalyst support, the use of highly graphitic carbon and S, N-doped carbon could be reasonable approach.

In this study, we investigate the effect of nitrogen contents of carbon support for Pt catalyst in terms of MEA durability. N-doped carbon is provided by ball-milling with pristine carbon and melamine. To designate N contents and investigate surface structure, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy are carried out. To understand electron transfer between Pt and N, we conduct X-ray absorption fine spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The synthesized Pt/N-C via polyol process shows improved performance toward oxygen reduction reaction in acidic media than commercial Pt/C.