Nanostructured Materials Supported Oxygen Reduction Catalysts in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

Download or read book Nanostructured Materials Supported Oxygen Reduction Catalysts in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells written by Ja-Yeon Choi and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 95 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 as supports 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. 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.