Reviewed by Lexie CornerDec 6 2024
Researchers from Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology created a technology that significantly increases the durability of alloy catalysts, a vital part of fuel cells. By adding nitrogen to the alloy structure, the team addressed the high cost and low durability of platinum catalysts, two significant barriers to commercializing Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) for environmentally friendly vehicles. The study was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Scientists are concentrating more on resolving significant technical obstacles as international efforts to commercialize hydrogen fuel cells heat up. Platinum-cobalt (PtCo) alloys have shown remarkable performance among potential solutions; however, their high cost and durability problems, mainly caused by the cobalt's easy dissolution, limit their long-term use.
To address these issues, Professor Yu's group created a novel synthesis technique that incorporates nitrogen into PtCo alloys. By stabilizing cobalt through cobalt–nitrogen bonding and thereby preventing its dissolution, this nitrogen-doping technique greatly increases the alloys' durability.
This technology opens the door for commercializing low-platinum, high-stability fuel cells by lowering the amount of platinum needed while maintaining high performance and durability.
Due to the cobalt–nitrogen bonding, the newly created nitrogen-doped PtCo alloy exhibits remarkable structural stability and ordered PtCo structures both inside and on the alloy's surface.
According to computational chemical analyses by Professor Seoin Baek of Sogang University, this strong cobalt–nitrogen bond raises the dissolution energy of cobalt by about twofold, greatly increasing its stability within the alloy.
In accelerated durability evaluations, the alloy outperformed commercial catalysts in terms of performance and longevity, surpassing the 2025 durability targets the US Department of Energy set.
Our research focused on addressing the durability limitations of existing alloys to significantly enhance fuel cell performance. By advancing the application of platinum-cobalt alloys with outstanding initial performance to practical fuel cells, we have developed a technology that meets the demands of both longevity and efficiency for hydrogen fuel cells. We hope this achievement will contribute to making hydrogen fuel cells a sustainable energy solution across various applications, including automotive, marine, aviation, and power generation sectors.
Jongsung Yu, Professor, Department of Energy Science & Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology
The study was supported by the Mid-Career Researcher Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea.
Journal Reference:
Maulana, I, M., et al. (2024) Cobalt Nitride-Implanted PtCo Intermetallic Nanocatalysts for Ultrahigh Fuel Cell Cathode Performance. Journal of the American Chemical Society. doi.org/10.1021/jacs.4c09514.