article · International Journal of Electrochemical Science
Hydrogen offers high energy density as a substitute for fossil fuels, relying on liquid organics such as methanol and ethanol as viable sources. To generate power efficiently from these fuels, energy conversion devices such as proton exchange membrane fuel cells and direct alcohol fuel cells require high-performing catalysts. Carbon-supported platinum group metal catalysts provide superior catalytic properties, where the carbon support reduces metal agglomeration and improves electron transfer. Direct alcohol fuel cells provide notable benefits, including easier handling, higher power output, low emissions, and simple designs without moving parts. Nevertheless, operational issues persist, such as sluggish methanol oxidation kinetics, fuel crossover, and catalyst poisoning caused by adsorbed intermediates. Utilising specialised carbon supports is essential to address these limitations and enhance overall fuel cell performance.
Transitioning from fossil fuels to clean energy requires efficient and durable power conversion systems. Fuel cells running on liquid alcohols offer a low-emission alternative, but their practical operation is hindered by catalyst degradation and slow reaction rates. Improving catalyst supports helps resolve these technical bottlenecks, paving the way towards more reliable and cost-effective clean power technologies.
This research is relevant to fuel cell developers and catalyst manufacturers working on direct alcohol and proton exchange membrane systems for clean power generation. Because the findings derive from a review examining material performance and operational barriers such as anode poisoning, the work represents early-stage to applied research focused on guiding catalyst formulation rather than presenting a near-market product.
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Due to its high energy density and high combustion temperature, hydrogen (H2) is being investigated as a potential energy carrier to compete with and replace fossil fuels, yet its evolution requires the employment of efficient catalysts in liquid organics as its sources. These liquid organics include methanol and ethanol. The latter gains preference due to its low toxicity. To have an efficient fuel cell system, carbon-supported platinum group metal (PGM)--based catalysts are usually employed as these types of catalysts exhibit superior catalytic properties. The inclusion of catalytic carbon supports is important for the reduction of agglomeration in the PGM-based catalysts while also improving and enhancing the electron transfer processes. These catalysts, in turn, can be used to fabricate energy conversion devices and reactors such as proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs) to name a few. DAFCs, in particular, are more easily handled and have higher power output than proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and have better efficiency, lower emissions when compared to other conventional energy technologies, simple design with no moving parts, and promising low-cost and durability. However, the system is constrained by various challenges such as slow kinetics of the methanol oxidation, crossover, and anode poisoning by strongly adsorbed intermediates. Thus, carbon supports come into play in these systems. In this review, we discuss the performance of various carbon-supported PGM-based catalysts in the as-fabricated PEMFCs, DAFCs, and DMFCs.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.ijoes.2024.100524
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