Radial nanochannel carbon support enables 1000°C PtCo catalyst annealing

Tucson, 10 September 2026. A research team led by Gang Wu at Washington University in St. Louis, with collaborators from Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Northeastern University, and the University of Pittsburgh, has developed a radial nanochannel-array carbon sphere support for platinum-cobalt intermetallic fuel cell catalysts. The work was reported in Nature Nanotechnology and published by MSE Supplies on Sep 10, 2026.

The support is a hollow, porous structure built around open-through-grooved mesopores arranged radially from center to surface. Pore volume and size are tuned for nanoparticle confinement. The radial channels physically confine PtCo nanoparticles during annealing, preventing the coarsening that conventional supports allow.

The ordered L1₀ phase responsible for activity and stability gains does not complete below roughly 1,000°C. Conventional carbon supports lose their ability to hold nanoparticles in place once annealing temperatures climb past about 700°C, so particles sinter and coarsen before the transition finishes. The new support was annealed at 1,000°C and held particles under 5 nanometers with more than 80 percent L1₀ ordering and 40 weight percent platinum content.

"The radial nanochannel carbon didn't change the platinum-cobalt chemistry. It changed how much heat the support could take before the nanoparticles it was holding stopped behaving."

In membrane electrode assemblies, the catalyst delivered 2.12 A/cm² at 0.70 V under heavy-duty vehicle test conditions. After an accelerated stress test of 150,000 voltage cycles, roughly equivalent to 25,000 hours of operation, it retained 82.5 percent of its initial activity. The source states Washington University's own release cites 85 percent, and that the peer-reviewed figure is authoritative.

The open channel structure was also credited with improving ionomer distribution through the electrode, reducing oxygen, proton, and water transport resistance.

Source: MSE Supplies LLC news