Platinum (Pt) catalysts dispersed on carbon-based support materials are generally used in the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells. In this study, commercial graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs), with different surface areas (320, 530, 800 m2 g− 1), were used as catalyst supports in PEM fuel cells. These GNPs were also pyrolyzed under the inert atmosphere, with and without melamine, as the nitrogen (N) source. Various characterizations (Elemental analysis, FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, BET, TEM, HRTEM, SAED, XRD, TGA, ICP-MS, contact angle measurement, CV, ORR, chronoamperometry, EIS, PEM fuel cell performance test) were performed for the detailed analysis of Pt/GNPs. Based on the three-electrode cell system, the lowest electrochemical surface area (ECSA) loss (29.9%), Pt mass activity loss (20.3%) and overall (charge and mass) resistance (42.2 Ω) were obtained with the Pt/M-530 catalyst. According to the in-situ PEM fuel cell performance results, the specific peak power density was recorded as (450 mW mg Pt− 1) for the Pt/R-530 catalyst, which has also the second most hydrophobic catalyst layer surface with the 146.5° ± 1.28° contact angle value. On the heels of Pt/R-530, the two best performances also belong to the Pt/M-530 (391 mW mg Pt− 1) and Pt/P-530 (378 mW mg Pt− 1) catalysts of the same group.

Oxidation characteristics of benzene as a VOC were investigated using a fixed bed reactor system over transition metal catalysts. The transition metal catalysts were made by using transition metal nitrate reagent and various support materials such as γ-Al2O3, and TiO2. The parametric tests were conducted at the reaction temperature range of 200～500℃, benzene concentration of 2,000～3,000 ppm with space velocity of 10000 hr-1. The property analyses such as BET, SEM, TGA and the conversions of catalytic oxidation of VOC were examined. The experimental results showed that the BET surface areas of catalyst are 86.4∼167.7m2/g, the pore volumes are 0.049∼0.056cm3/g, and the average pore sizes of catalyst are 27∼44Å, which mean the meso pore. It was also found that the conversion of benzene oxidation reaction at 400∼500℃ with Cu/γ-Al2O3+TiO2 catalyst showed 90∼100%, which indicate that the transition metal catalyst with composite supports is very effective for the oxidation of benzene.

TiO2- and SiO2-supported Co3O4, Pt and Co3O4-Pt catalysts have been studied for CO and C3H8 oxidations at temperatures less than 250℃ which is a lower limit of light-off temperatures to oxidize them during emission test cycles of gasoline-fueled automotives with TWCs (three-way catalytic converters) consisting mainly of Pt, Pd and Rh. All the catalysts after appropriate activation such as calcination at 350℃ and reduction at 400℃ exhibited significant dependence on both their preparation techniques and supports upon CO oxidation at chosen temperatures. A Pt/TiO2 catalyst prepared by using an ion-exchange method (IE) has much better activity for such CO oxidation because of smaller Pt nanoparticles, compared to a supported Pt obtained via an incipient wetness (IW). Supported Co3O4-only catalysts are very active for CO oxidation even at 100℃, but the use of TiO2 as a support and the IW technique give the best performances. These effects on supports and preparation methods were indicated for Co3O4-Pt catalysts. Based on activity profiles of CO oxidation at 100℃ over a physical mixture of supported Pt and Co3O4 after activation under different conditions, and typical light-off temperatures of CO and unburned hydrocarbons in common TWCs as tested for C3H8 oxidation at 250℃ with a Pt-exchanged SiO2 catalyst, this study may offer an useful approach to substitute Co3O4 for a part of platinum group metals, particularly Pt, thereby lowering the usage of the precious metals.