Nanomaterials for Electrodes of Fuel Cells and Water Electrolysis

摘要

Recent rapid decline in the price of renewable energy increases the importance of energy carriers.The most common energy carrier so far is hydrogen that can be produced using electricity by water electrolysis and then converted back to electricity by fuel cells.One of issues in polymer electrolyte fuel cells(PEFCs)and polymer electrolyte water electrolyzers(PEWEs)are high cost and low durability of electrocatalysts used in oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)at a cathode of PEFC and oxygen evolution reaction(OER)at an anode of PEWE.Start-stop operation of PEFCs makes the cathode potential as high as 1.5 V,and an operation potential of the anode of PEWE is usually above 1.5 V.These highly oxidizing conditions easily corrode carbon support that is commonly used as the conducting support for electrocatalysts,and thus become the reason for the low durability during start-stop operation in PEFCs or result in the use of low surface area iridium(Ir)catalysts with a high Ir loading of 1-4 mg cm~(-2)in conventional PEWE.