Platinum-Based Electrocatalysts with Core-Shell Nanostructures

摘要

The development of low-temperature hydrogen fuel cells for automotive applications has witnessed tremendous progress over the past several years,'11 and the total distance driven by fuel-cell-operated vehicles exceeded the million-mile mark in 2009. New cell modules continue to reduce the cost, volume, and weight of fuel cells at a rapid pace. One driving force for this fast development lies in the great progress made in making active cathode catalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Improvement of the activity and durability of electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) remains a key research area for the creation of future generations of PEMFCs for automotive applications. As there is still no viable alternative to the replacement of catalysts made of Pt group metals (PGMs), the need of low cost, highly active, and durable fuel-cell electrodes heightens the design criteria. In this regard, multicomponent nano-structures can play important roles in the design of ORR catalysts with high activity and durability.