Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Setzler, Brian P.
• Zhuang, Zhongbin
• Wittkopf, Jarrid A.
• Yan, Yushan

Titel

Activity targets for nanostructured platinum-group-metal-free catalysts in hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cells

Ist Teil von

• Nature nanotechnology, 2016-12, Vol.11 (12), p.1020-1025

Ort / Verlag

London: Nature Publishing Group UK

Erscheinungsjahr

2016

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• This Perspective establishes catalyst activity targets for hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cells and discusses advantages and research needs of this technology. Fuel cells are the zero-emission automotive power source that best preserves the advantages of gasoline automobiles: low upfront cost, long driving range and fast refuelling. To make fuel-cell cars a reality, the US Department of Energy has set a fuel cell system cost target of US$30 kW −1 in the long-term, which equates to US$2,400 per vehicle, excluding several major powertrain components (in comparison, a basic, but complete, internal combustion engine system costs approximately US$3,000). To date, most research for automotive applications has focused on proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), because these systems have demonstrated the highest power density. Recently, however, an alternative technology, hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cells (HEMFCs), has gained significant attention, because of the possibility to use stable platinum-group-metal-free catalysts, with inherent, long-term cost advantages. In this Perspective, we discuss the cost profile of PEMFCs and the advantages offered by HEMFCs. In particular, we discuss catalyst development needs for HEMFCs and set catalyst activity targets to achieve performance parity with state-of-the-art automotive PEMFCs. Meeting these targets requires careful optimization of nanostructures to pack high surface areas into a small volume, while maintaining high area-specific activity and favourable pore-transport properties.