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Bio‐Inspired Synthesis of High‐Performance Nanocomposite Catalysts for Hydrogen Oxidation
Author(s) -
Kong Chang Sun,
Zhang HongLi,
Somodi Ferenc,
Morse Daniel E.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201203882
Subject(s) - materials science , proton exchange membrane fuel cell , nanocrystalline material , nanocomposite , catalysis , fuel cells , electrochemistry , electrochemical energy conversion , porosity , hydrogen fuel , nanotechnology , chemical engineering , commercialization , carbon fibers , electrode , composite material , organic chemistry , chemistry , composite number , political science , law , engineering
A biologically inspired synthesis method is presented as a new tool for the design of novel electrochemically active materials, focusing on the advantages for fuel cell development. The need for cost‐effective, high‐performance materials is driving contemporary fuel cell research, with the expectation that advances in synthetic methods will be necessary for commercialization of this energy technology. Highly active electrocatalysts for proton‐exchange‐membrane (PEM) fuel cells are being developed, by combining a kinetically controlled synthesis method of the nanocrystalline metal catalyst with the mesoscale assembly of two morphologically different carbon building blocks of the supporting matrix. These methods provide access to new combinations of porosity, conductivity and electrochemical hydrogen oxidation. The relationships between the porous morphologies of the carbon matrices, the sizes of the platinum nanocrystals and their resulting electrochemical activities are discussed, correlating these with the relevant fuel cell principles.