CO tolerance of Pt-W electrocatalysts for polymer electrolyte cells

The performance of Pt-W electrocatalysts as CO tolerant anodes in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) was evaluated and compared with Pt-Ru, Pt-Sn and Pt anodes. Testing were carried out in pure hydrogen and in presence of 100 ppm CO. CO tolerance was measured as the loss in the cell voltage due to CO in the H-2 normalised to a pure H-2 fed standard anode. A voltage loss less than 25% at 0.6A/cm(2) was measured at 90 degrees C with Pt50Ru50/C and Pt50W50/C anodes. The promising results obtained with Pt-W binary anode catalyst, though non conclusive what concerns the stability vender this catalyst interesting for further investigation.