Question

What are nanostructured materials in a PEM Fuel Cell?

Answer 1

Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells have been viewed as promising power source candidates for transport, stationary, and portable applications due to their high
efficiency and low emissions. The platinum is the most commonly used catalyst material for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the cathode of PEM fuel cells; however, the limited abundance and high cost of platinum hinder the large-scale commercialization of fuel cells.To overcome this limitation, it is necessary to enhance the catalyst utilization in order to improve the catalytic activity while decreasing or eliminating the use of platinum. The material on which the catalyst is supported is important for the high dispersion and
narrow distribution of Pt nanoparticles as well as other non-precious metal active sites, and these characteristics are closely related to electrocatalytic activity of the catalysts. The
support materials can influence the catalytic activity by interplaying with catalytic metals, and the durability of the catalyst is also greatly dependent on its support. A variety of
support materials like carbons, oxides, carbides, and nitrides have been employed assupports materials for fuel cell catalysts, and much effort has been devoted to the synthesis
of the novel carbon supports with large surface area and/or pore volume, including nanostructured carbons such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), carbon nanofibers, and
mesoporous carbon. For example, carbon nanotube supported Pt catalysts have shown improved catalytic activity and durability compared to the commercial catalyst supported on
Vulcan XC-72 carbon black, due to the structural and electrical properties of CNTs. Mesoporous carbon supported Pt catalysts also have shown excellent performance in PEM fuel cell electrode reactions, attributed to the high uniform dispersion of catalytic metals, the high electrical conductivity, and the enhanced mass transfer due to the pore structure of the materials. The carbon support can also be doped by other atoms or compounds in order to obtain both improved catalytic activity and enhanced durability for ORR. These novel nanostructured carbon materials have achieved promising performance in terms of catalytic activity and durability. However, there is still enormous demand and potential for the catalysts to improve.

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