Pd−Ti and Pd−Co−Au Electrocatalysts as a Replacement for Platinum for Oxygen Reduction in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Abstract

Fuel cells are appealing for a variety of energy needs, but the high materials and manufacturing costs have hampered their commercialization. The limited availability and the high cost of the currently used platinum catalysts, however, pose a serious problem in their practical application. We report here non-platinum electrocatalyst systems, such as Pd-Co-Au and Pd-Ti, that are proposed from simple thermodynamic guidelines and selecting by a rapid screening technique, which show electrochemical performance in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) similar to that found with commercial platinum catalysts. This finding opens up a new avenue to develop potentially less expensive electrocatalysts.