A new type of nanocatalyst can result in the long-awaited commercial breakthrough for fuel cell cars.
Research results from Chalmers University of Technology and Technical University of Denmark show that it is possible to significantly reduce the need for platinum, a precious and rare metal, by creating a nanoalloy using a new production technique. The technology is also well suited for mass production.
?”A nano solution is needed to mass-produce resource-efficient catalysts for fuel cells. With our method, only one tenth as much platinum is needed for the most demanding reactions. This can reduce the amount of platinum required for a fuel cell by about 70 per cent”, says Björn Wickman, researcher at the Department of Physics at Chalmers.
If this level of efficiency is possible to achieve in a fuel cell, the amount of required platinum would be comparable to what is used in an ordinary car catalytic converter.
“Hopefully, this will allow fuel cells to replace fossil fuels and also be a complement to battery-powered cars”, says Björn Wickman.
Even though there have been fuel cell cars for about fifty years, advances have not led to a commercial breakthrough. The catalysts in today’s fuel cells require large amounts of platinum, which is one of the world’s most expensive metals.
Previous research has shown that it is possible to mix platinum with other metals, such as yttrium, to reduce the amount of platinum in a fuel cell. Even so, no one has yet managed to create alloys with these metals in nanoparticle form in a manner that can be used for large-scale production. The major problem has been that yttrium oxidizes instead of forming an alloy with the platinum.
This problem has now been solved by Chalmers researchers by combining the metals in a vacuum chamber using a technique called sputtering. The result is a nanometre-thin film of the new alloy that allows mass-produced platinum and yttrium fuel cell catalysts.
To use the new material, today’s fuel cells need to change slightly, but doing so creates incredible opportunities.
“When we can use our resources better, we save both the environment and lower costs. Fuel cells convert chemical energy into electrical energy using hydrogen and oxygen – with water as the only product. They have huge potential for sustainable energy solutions in transport, portable electronics and energy”, says Niklas Lindahl, researcher at the Department of Physics at Chalmers.
How the new method works:
Nanoalloys of platinum (grey) and yttrium (blue) are created using sputtering in a vacuum chamber. This is done by directing plasma (purple) at a piece of platinum with small attached pieces of yttrium. The nanometre-thin alloy films effectively transform oxygen (red) and protons (white) into water. It is this reaction that causes the fuel cell to generate electricity.
Learn more: Nanoalloys ten times as effective as pure platinum in fuel cells
[osd_subscribe categories=’fuel-cell-cars’ placeholder=’Email Address’ button_text=’Subscribe Now for any new posts on the topic “FUEL CELL CARS’]
The Latest on: Fuel cell cars
[google_news title=”” keyword=”fuel cell cars” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
- Thailand Looks to Hydrogen Power to Replace Oil-Powered Vehicles
While electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming more popular as a replacement for oil-powered vehicles, national oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc believes hydrogen power still has potential as a future ...
- This is the new ultrathin hydrogen fuel cell: extremely compact and boasting 175 kW of power
This is the new hydrogen fuel cell: extremely small and with 175 kW of power, setting the final of the EVs in our highways ...
- Organic Catalyst Discovery Could Reduce the Cost of Fuel Cells
Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have reached unprecedented heights, intensifying the need for clean energy solutions as alternatives to fossil fuels. One obstacle that researchers face is that curre ...
- Hydrogen fuel cell car sales plummet amidst stiff competition from EVs
The recent uptake of cars based on hydrogen fuel cell technology is declining in the United States, especially in California.
- Red Bull makes hydrogen fuel cell play with AVL
Red Bull Advanced Technologies is partnering with Austrian mobility specialists AVL to develop lightweight fuel cells for motorsport, aviation and performance cars.
via Google News and Bing News