Fuel cell Breakthrough! High efficiency catalyst improves carbon monoxide tolerance

Fuel cell, as an efficient and clean energy conversion device, has attracted wide attention in recent years. However, the toxic effect of carbon monoxide (CO) on fuel cell catalysts has always been a problem restricting its development. The research and development of efficient carbon monoxide catalysts has brought new breakthroughs to improve the carbon monoxide tolerance of fuel cells, and promoted the progress and application of fuel cell technology.
A fuel cell converts the chemical energy of a fuel, such as hydrogen, directly into electricity through an electrochemical reaction. Among them, the anode catalyst plays a key role, which can accelerate the oxidation of hydrogen. However, when the fuel contains trace amounts of carbon monoxide, carbon monoxide will be strongly adsorbed on the catalyst surface, occupying the active site, resulting in catalyst inactivation and a sharp decline in battery performance.
Taking a fuel cell vehicle as an example, when using reformed hydrogen as fuel, due to the hydrogen inevitably contains a small amount of carbon monoxide, resulting in rapid deterioration of battery performance and greatly shortened mileage. This problem seriously restricts the commercialization process of fuel cell vehicles.
In order to solve the problem of carbon monoxide poisoning, researchers have developed a variety of highly efficient carbon monoxide catalysts. These catalysts enhance the carbon monoxide tolerance of fuel cells through the following mechanisms:
Selective oxidation: In the presence of hydrogen, the oxidation of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide is preferred
Alloy effect: The use of alloy catalyst to change the adsorption characteristics of carbon monoxide, reduce its toxicity
Nanostructure design: By regulating the nanostructure of the catalyst, increasing the active site and improving the catalytic efficiency
A well-known automaker has adopted a new carbon monoxide tolerant catalyst in its latest fuel cell vehicles. The catalyst is based on platinum-ruthenium alloy nanoparticles and has the characteristics of high efficiency and stability. In the actual test, even if the carbon monoxide concentration in the fuel reaches 100ppm, the battery performance remains stable, and the mileage is increased by more than 30%. This breakthrough clears the way for the commercial application of fuel cell vehicles.
The contribution of efficient catalysts
Improve battery performance: Significantly improve carbon monoxide tolerance of fuel cells and extend battery life
Lower fuel costs: Allows the use of reformed hydrogen containing carbon monoxide, reducing fuel preparation costs
Promote the application of technology: promote the application of fuel cells in automobiles, drones, backup power supplies and other fields
Future development direction
Developing new catalyst materials: Exploring non-precious metal catalysts and single-atom catalysts to reduce catalyst costs
Optimization of catalyst structure: Through nanotechnology and surface engineering, the activity and stability of catalysts are further improved
Expanding the field of application: High-efficiency carbon monoxide catalysts are used in other types of fuel cells, such as direct methanol fuel cells
Challenges: cost control (how to reduce the production cost of catalysts while ensuring performance), long-term stability (how to improve the stability of catalysts in long-term operation), scale production (how to achieve large-scale, low-cost production of catalysts)