Scientists at the IMDEA Materials Institute in Spain have created a catalyst for hydrogen fuel cells that uses 75% less platinum than conventional designs while delivering comparable performance. The findings were published in the journal Electrochimica Acta.
Hydrogen fuel cells rely on platinum to accelerate the oxygen reduction reaction, which generates electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen. Platinum's high cost remains a primary obstacle to wider adoption of the technology.
The new catalyst consists of a copper-platinum alloy (Cu₃Pt) deposited on a nickel-titanium shape-memory substrate. Applying a mechanical compression of less than 1% alters the alloy's atomic spacing and electronic structure, boosting its catalytic activity.
In acidic conditions, the compressed catalyst reached 855 millivolts at a current density of 1 milliampere per square centimeter, virtually matching the 856 millivolts recorded for pure platinum under the same test conditions. Stretching the alloy by 0.80% caused a significant performance drop.
During operation, copper selectively dissolves from the surface, forming a thin platinum-enriched layer a few nanometers thick. This self-organizing surface works together with the mechanical strain to maintain high efficiency with far less platinum.
Lead author Jorge Redondo said the results validate elastic strain engineering as a precise strategy for designing cost-effective catalysts. The institute noted that further work is needed to demonstrate cost-effective manufacturing at industrial scale and long-term stability of the compression effect during extended operation.
New catalyst with 75% less platinum promises to reduce the cost of hydrogen fuel cells
This is an independent summary. The complete reporting, supporting context and any primary documents remain with Phys.org.