Design Pt single atom alloy for electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction in hydrogen fuel cells

Pt is a noble metal that is widely applied as catalysts in the chemical, energy and environmental sectors. There is a pressing need for the development of more efficient Pt catalysts with less Pt content. The project goal is to develop Pt alloy based catalysts the achieved high activity for the cathode reactions in the proton membrane fuel cells. The development of such catalysts will reduce the Pt consumption and enable economical fuel cell cars powered by clean hydrogen. The aims of this research project are:
- to design single-atom alloy of Pt over earth abundant metals, such as Fe, Co and Ni
- to evaluate the catalytic performance of the Pt single atom alloys in the fuel cell
- to understand the structure-performance relationship of the catalysts.
To attain this goal, the single-atom alloys will be designed following the d-band principles. Their electronic structures will be studied via X-ray based spectroscopy. The activity of the catalysts will be evaluated in the three electrode system. Finally the fuel cell performance will be studied by assembling the two electrode systems. The development of such catalysts is over great impact to achieve low cost and highly efficient materials for fuel cell applications.