Improved Fuel Cell Cathode Catalysts Using Combinatorial Methods

72683B03-I Fuel cells for transportation require too much platinum (Pt) to be commercialized. The high Pt loadings are a result of sluggish kinetics for the oxygen reduction reaction. Better catalysts are needed for oxygen reduction if Pt loadings are to be reduced. In this project, high throughput screening methods will be integrated with advanced process control robotics and design of experiment strategies to combinatorially discover new fuel cell cathode catalysts. Phase I will establish and demonstrate the collaborative combinatorial discovery program on ternary cathode catalysts. A catalyst with a 25% improvement over state-of-the-art catalysts will be demonstrated, with an order-of-magnitude improvement expected in Phase II. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by awardee: A cathode catalyst with a ten-fold improvement should enable significant market injection of PEM fuel-cell-powered transportation. Other benefits would include market injection of portable power systems based on fuel cells. The combinatorial method also could be applied to other systems of interest, such as electrolyzers, sensors, photocatalysts, and other electrochemical systems.