Nanostructured catalysts in fuel cells

Abstract

Fuel cells are promising green power sources with theoretically zero pollution and broad applications. One of the most important challenges for fuel cells is to have more cost-effective catalysts with high catalytic activity. Nanoscience has stimulated extensive interest in nanostructured catalysts to significantly improve the energy density, power density and operation reliability while greatly reducing the manufacturing expense. In particular, nanostructured materials play a critical role in the catalysis of various innovative fuel cells, which not only possess high specific surface area and good conductivity for low polarization, but also provide unique nanoporous structures and functional chemical properties for highly intrinsic electroactivity and excellent utilization. The recent advances in nanostructured catalysts and supports are reviewed in this article. The relationships between the nanostructures and electrocatalytic performance and the catalysis mechanisms are discussed.