Platinum nanoparticles for fuel-cell catalysts may cut cost

Fuel-cell technology is a big subject with some very small but vital aspects, one of which is the size of platinum atoms. Reduce these and the cost of platinum-one of the major drawbacks of current fuel-cell systems-would also fall. So, establishing and creating the optimum size for platinum fuel-cell catalysis for cars and heavy-duty trucks is one of the ongoing research areas for future alternative energy solutions.

At the Technical University of Munich (TUM), an interdisciplinary research team recently revealed in a report the details of successfully modeling the optimum size for platinum stacks. The report states: “The new size-optimized catalysts are twice as good as the best pure platinum catalysts commercially available today.” It is a very encouraging result and strengthens the case for fuel cells, although more research is needed to achieve an even greater advance in the activity of fuel-cell catalysts in order to build a commercial case.