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PEM Fuel Cells and Platinum-Based Electrocatalysts

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Book cover Fuel Cells

Abstract

H2/air-powered PEM fuel cells are a future substitute for combustion engines as the green power source for transport application. In PEM fuel cells, because of their low operating temperature and low pH, both anode and cathode reactions are catalyzed by Pt or Pt-based electrocatalysts. Pt is a precious and expensive noble metal, and therefore its loading requirement plays a major role in determining the cost of fuel cells in mass production. The anode hydrogen oxidation reaction on Pt is intrinsically fast and requires very little Pt, while the cathode oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is a very sluggish reaction that consumes about 90% of the total Pt content in PEM fuel cells. The current Pt loading in the most advanced fuel cell vehicles that use state-of-the-art Pt-based catalysts is about four- to eightfold higher than the target established for mass-produced fuel cell vehicles. Therefore, lowering the Pt loading at the cathode is the most critical mission for the PEM fuel cell development. To do that, significant depth of knowledge in understanding the ORR on Pt and Pt-based electrocatalysts’ surfaces is required; and the search for novel Pt-based electrocatalysts with enhanced ORR activity is seemingly the most productive pathway.

This chapter was originally published as part of the Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology edited by Robert A. Meyers. DOI:10.1007/978-1-4419-0851-3

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Abbreviations

Anode:

An electrode where the electrochemical oxidation reaction(s) occurs, generating free electrons that flow through a polarized electrical device and enter the cathode. In a fuel cell, the fuel oxidation reaction happens at the anode.

Cathode:

An electrode where the electrochemical reduction reaction(s) occurs, by consuming the electrons originated from the anode. In a fuel cell, the oxygen reduction reaction happens at the cathode.

Electrocatalyst:

A material that is applied on the surface of an electrode to catalyze half-cell reactions.

Normal hydrogen electrode (NHE):

Also known as the standard hydrogen electrode (SHE), it is a redox reference electrode which forms the basis of the thermodynamic scale of oxidation–reduction potentials. The potential of the NHE is defined as zero and based on equilibrium of the following redox half-cell reaction, typically on a Pt surface:\( {2}{{{\text H}}^{+} }({{\text aq}}) + {2}{{{\text e}}^{-} } \to {{{\text H}}_2}({{\text g}}).\)The activities of both the reduced form and the oxidized form are maintained at unity. That implies that the pressure of hydrogen gas is 1 atm and the concentration of hydrogen ions in the solution is 1 M.

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR):

An electrode reaction, in which oxygen gas is reduced at the cathode of an electrochemical cell. The product of the reaction can be water molecules, hydroxyl ions (OH−), or sometimes hydrogen peroxide molecules. It is a very important and much-studied electrochemical reaction because it occurs at the cathode of practically all fuel cells.

Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC):

Also known as polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, these are a type of fuel cells that use proton-conducting-ionomer membrane as the electrolyte to separate anode and cathode. Their distinguishing features include low operating temperature (∼80°C), high power density, quick start-up, and quick match to shifting demands for power. They are being developed for transport applications as well as stationary and portable applications.

Pt mass activity:

The kinetic current of the oxygen reduction reaction normalized by the mass of Pt metal contained in the electrocatalyst.

Pt-specific activity:

The kinetic current of the oxygen reduction reaction normalized by the electrochemical surface area of the Pt metal contained in the electrocatalyst.

Reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE):

This differs from the NHE by the fact that the hydrogen-ion concentration of RHE reaction is the same as that in the actual electrolyte solution used for the working electrode. The potential of RHE is therefore (−0.059* (pH of the electrolyte)) V.

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  1. Electrochemical Energy Research Laboratory, General Motors Global R&D, Honeoye Falls, NY, USA

    Junliang Zhang

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    Klaus-Dieter Kreuer

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Zhang, J. (2013). PEM Fuel Cells and Platinum-Based Electrocatalysts. In: Kreuer, KD. (eds) Fuel Cells. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5785-5_10

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