Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Commons^™

Development Of Novel Nanomaterials For High-Performance And Low-Cost Fuel Cell Applications, Shuhui Sun

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are promising energy converting technologies to generate electricity by mainly using hydrogen as a fuel, producing water as the only exhaust. However, short life-time and high cost of Pt catalyst are the main obstacles for the commercialization of PEMFCs. In the conventional carbon black supported platinum nanoparticle (NP) commercial catalyst, carbon supports are prone to oxidation and corrosion over time that results in Pt NPs migration, coalescence, even detaching from the catalyst support. In addition, Ostwald ripening of the Pt NPs could also occur due to their high surface energy and zero dimensional structural …