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Challenges in applying highly active Pt-based nanostructured catalysts for oxygen reduction reactions to fuel cell vehicles

Nature Nanotechnology volume 16, pages 140–147 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

The past 30 years have seen progress in the development of Pt-based nanocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction, and some are now in production on a commercial basis and used for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) for automotives and other applications. Further improvements in catalytic activity are required for wider uptake of PEFCs, however. In laboratories, researchers have developed various catalysts that have much higher activities than commercial ones, and these state-of-the-art catalysts have potential to improve energy conversion efficiencies and reduce the usage of platinum in PEFCs. There are several technical issues that must be solved before they can be applied in fuel cell vehicles, which require a high power density and practical durability, as well as high efficiency. In this Review, the development history of Pt-based nanocatalysts and recent analytical studies are summarized to identify the origin of these technical issues. Promising strategies for overcoming those issues are also discussed.

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Fig. 1: PEFC configuration and typical performance characteristic.
Fig. 2: Timeline of recent progress in research on cathode catalysts for PEFCs.
Fig. 3: Timeline of recent studies on power density losses for low-Pt-loading cells.
Fig. 4: Schematics of catalyst degradation mechanisms and mitigating strategies.
Fig. 5

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  1. Toyota Central R&D Labs, Nagakute, Japan

    Kensaku Kodama, Tomoyuki Nagai, Akira Kuwaki, Ryosuke Jinnouchi & Yu Morimoto

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Kodama, K., Nagai, T., Kuwaki, A. et al. Challenges in applying highly active Pt-based nanostructured catalysts for oxygen reduction reactions to fuel cell vehicles. Nat. Nanotechnol. 16, 140–147 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-020-00824-w

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