Advances in Fuel Cell Catalyst

A special issue of Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344). This special issue belongs to the section "Electrocatalysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2019) | Viewed by 10583

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-749, Korea
Interests: polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells; solid oxide fuel cells; electrochemical oxygen catalysts; zinc-air batteries; reforming catalysts; interface design

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Once revered as a technology with a great deal of potential, yet without fruition, it seems that mankind is at the very first steps of the long-awaited commercialization of fuel cell (FC) systems. Recent market launches of various hydrogen-powered vehicles, increased installation cases of solid oxide-based stationary FCs are just a few examples of this encouraging movement. Moreover, emerging environmental challenges such as global warming are in favor of powering the momentum for further applications of these cleaner energy options. Advances in catalysts in FC application has been remarkable in all systems, such as polymer electrolyte membrane FC, solid oxide FC, alkaline FC and hydrocarbon FCs. In this sense, it is worthwhile to mention some of the critical obstacles which the solutions will fortify the foundations for these newly market immerging technologies.

Increasing catalyst activity has been considered as one of the major pillars in FC research. As the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction of the cathode dictates the overall performance of the cell, much efforts have been focused on investigating novel materials and structures regarding this perspective. While a catalyst’s activity plays a crucial role in determining the performance of the FCs, in the sense of commercial implementation, the decisive factor weighs more on the durability rather than the activity. Pt-based nanoparticles are widely used as electrocatalysts in operation of polymer electrolyte membrane FCs. While the longevity may be an intrinsic property of the active material, other factors play in the degradation of the catalyst. The chemical stability of the support materials and the size distribution of the nanoparticles are aspects to consider in the deterioration mechanism known as the “Ostwald ripening process”.

Works submitted to this Special Issue should be centered providing key insights to achieving highly active or durable electrocatalysts for commercial applications. Such understanding allows future researchers and engineers to harness the full potential of the technology securing further efforts of a realized cleaner, more efficient energy source.

Prof. Dr. Yong-Gun Shul
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell catalysts
  • Solid oxide fuel cell catalysts
  • Direct methaol fuel cell catalysts
  • High durability in electrocatalysts
  • Pt/non-Pt fuel cell catalysts
  • Durable catalyst support
  • Oxygen Reduction Reaction
  • Computational Chemistry
  • MEA interface charecterization
  • Reverse fuel cell catalyst
  • Alkaline fuel cell catalyst
  • Oxide electrocatalysts

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 3212 KiB  
Article
Insight on Single Cell Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Performance of Pt-Cu/C Cathode
by Marjan Bele, Matija Gatalo, Primož Jovanovič, Francisco Ruiz-Zepeda, Martin Šala, Ervin Šest, Nejc Hodnik, Stanko Hočevar, Irene Gatto, Ada Saccà, Antonino S. Aricò and Miran Gaberšček
Catalysts 2019, 9(6), 544; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal9060544 - 17 Jun 2019
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5491
Abstract
The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) properties of a proprietary PtCu3/C alloy electrocatalyst produced on a multi-gram scale are characterized by the conventional rotating disc electrode (RDE) method and by constructing a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) proton exchange membrane (PEM) single cell. [...] Read more.
The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) properties of a proprietary PtCu3/C alloy electrocatalyst produced on a multi-gram scale are characterized by the conventional rotating disc electrode (RDE) method and by constructing a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) proton exchange membrane (PEM) single cell. The PtCu3 nanoparticles become porous, enriched in Pt on the surface, and exhibit a high RDE activity. The single cell electrochemical study reveals that, contrary to most advanced catalysts, the high ORR activity can be transferred from the RDE to the MEA. In the latter case, at 0.9VIRfree, a mass activity of 0.53 A/mgPt, at a Pt electrode loading of 0.2 mg/cm2, is achieved. However, at high current density, oxygen transport becomes limited. This is proven by the analysis of polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) data with a Kulikovsky (physical) model. These indicate that this limitation is caused by the non-optimal microporosity of our catalyst, which hinders the mass transport of oxygen during ORR. Based on our prospective results, one can realistically plan for further efforts to bridge the gap between the RDE and MEA measurements completely and achieve high power densities for Pt-alloy electrocatalysts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fuel Cell Catalyst)
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21 pages, 3453 KiB  
Article
Carbon Supported Multi-Branch Nitrogen-Containing Polymers as Oxygen Reduction Catalysts
by Ya Chu, Lin Gu, Xiuping Ju, Hongmei Du, Jinsheng Zhao and Konggang Qu
Catalysts 2018, 8(6), 245; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal8060245 - 12 Jun 2018
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4123
Abstract
A composite catalyst was obtained by covalently linking G4-NH2 dendrimers and 1,10-phenanthroline-5-carboxylic acid on the surface of carbon powder, and the composite was named as PMPhen/C. In order to improve the catalytic performance of the composite, copper ions (II) were introduced to [...] Read more.
A composite catalyst was obtained by covalently linking G4-NH2 dendrimers and 1,10-phenanthroline-5-carboxylic acid on the surface of carbon powder, and the composite was named as PMPhen/C. In order to improve the catalytic performance of the composite, copper ions (II) were introduced to PMPhen/C by complex to form the PMPhen-Cu/C catalyst. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were applied to investigate the surface microstructure and elemental compositions of the catalysts. The results from electrochemical analysis show that PMPhen/C reduced oxygen to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) through a two-electron transfer process. PMPhen-Cu/C could reduce oxygen to water through a four-electron pathway. Except the slightly lower initial reduction potential, PMPhen-Cu/C has a comparable oxygen reduction ability (ORR) to that of the commercially available Pt/C catalyst, which makes it a potential candidate as the cathodic catalyst in some fuel cells running in neutral medium, such as a microbial fuel cell. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fuel Cell Catalyst)
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