SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NEW ELECTROCATALYTIC MATERIALS TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE, OPERABILITY AND LIFE-TIME OF PEMFCS
type: CreativeWork
description: Low-temperature fuel cells have been becoming important as an environment- friendly technology and are acquiring considerable interest in both research and commercial purposes. However, several limitations such as lifetime, reliability and cost are hindering the commercialization of these systems. The enhancement of catalytic activity and durability of catalysts represents one of the most important issues in fuel cell technology. To increase the performace and decrease the load of the catalysts, materials with high surface area and pore volume, commonly carbons, are widely used as catalyst supports in low-temperature fuel cells. The support materials can enhance the dispersion of metal particles. In addition, an interaction effect between the support material and the metal exists. It could change the activity of catalytic sites on the metal surface and modify the number of active sites by both electronic effect and geometric effect. The supports such as tungsten trioxide (WO3) may bring its own (electro)chemical function for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), methanol or CO oxidation. What’s more, the support materials can also influence the durability of the catalysts. The development of promising and new catalyst surports, therefore, is significantly vital for improving the electrochemical activities and stabilities of the catalysts. The present work focuses on the investigation of new catalyst supports in order to improve the performace of the catalysts. In addition, the durability issue in freezing condition is also studied. In the introductory section, two chapters are included. In chapter 1, the history and different fuel cell types are reviewed. The basic principles of the fuel cell reactions, both the thermodynamic considerations as well as the kinetic aspects, are discussed. Chapter 2 focuses on proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), including the oxygen reduction and hydrogen oxidation reactions, the various materials and components in the PEMFCs, the…
abstract: Low-temperature fuel cells have been becoming important as an environment- friendly technology and are acquiring considerable interest in both research and commercial purposes. However, several limitations such as lifetime, reliability and cost are hindering the commercialization of these systems. The enhancement of catalytic activity and durability of catalysts represents one of the most important issues in fuel cell technology. To increase the performace and decrease the load of the catalysts, materials with high surface area and pore volume, commonly carbons, are widely used as catalyst supports in low-temperature fuel cells. The support materials can enhance the dispersion of metal particles. In addition, an interaction effect between the support material and the metal exists. It could change the activity of catalytic sites on the metal surface and modify the number of active sites by both electronic effect and geometric effect. The supports such as tungsten trioxide (WO3) may bring its own (electro)chemical function for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), methanol or CO oxidation. What’s more, the support materials can also influence the durability of the catalysts. The development of promising and new catalyst surports, therefore, is significantly vital for improving the electrochemical activities and stabilities of the catalysts. The present work focuses on the investigation of new catalyst supports in order to improve the performace of the catalysts. In addition, the durability issue in freezing condition is also studied. In the introductory section, two chapters are included. In chapter 1, the history and different fuel cell types are reviewed. The basic principles of the fuel cell reactions, both the thermodynamic considerations as well as the kinetic aspects, are discussed. Chapter 2 focuses on proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), including the oxygen reduction and hydrogen oxidation reactions, the various materials and components in the PEMFCs, the…
author: ZENG, JUQIN
language: ita
language: eng
keywords: Settore ING-IND/22 - Scienza e Tecnologia dei Materiali
date published: 2012
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:51:03Z
provider: Politecnico di Torino
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Politecnico di Torino

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11583/2497100