Graphene shell makes platinum in truck fuel cells more durable
Japanese researchers wrap platinum nanoparticles in nitrogen-containing graphene. After 30,000 accelerated cycles, almost all of the active surface remains intact.
Symbolic image · Photo: JustAnotherCarDesigner / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (cropped and resized)
Researchers at Nagoya University have developed a catalyst for hydrogen fuel cells that is said to be far more durable than existing ones. The team led by Professor Masaya Kawasumi wraps platinum nanoparticles in a few layers of nitrogen-containing graphene and places them on single-walled carbon nanotubes, which the researchers say resist corrosion better than typical carbon supports. The study was published in ACS Catalysis.
The active platinum surface reached 96.3 square meters per gram, compared with 60.6 for a commercial catalyst. After 30,000 accelerated stress cycles, the new material retained 96.9 percent of its active area, while the commercial catalyst lost 56 percent. According to the study, both 2025 durability targets set by the U.S. Department of Energy were exceeded.
"Durability is a crucial problem, especially for use in heavy commercial vehicles," said researcher Miftakhul Huda, as quoted by scinexx. The results come only from accelerated laboratory tests, however, and do not yet allow conclusions about real-world lifetimes in trucks or buses. Long-term tests under varying operating conditions are to follow.