Mesoporous Silica‐Stabilized Ceria Antioxidants for Enhancing PEMFC Durability

Enhancing the durability of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is critical for advancing a hydrogen‐powered clean energy future. A major obstacle to improving PEMFC durability is reactive oxygen species (ROS) that deteriorate PEMFC performance by oxidizing membrane electrode assembly (...

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Main Authors: Yeongseop Lee, Seong Hoon Kwak, Sangwon Kim, Hae Jung Son, Jin Young Kim, Ho Young Kim, Sang Hoon Joo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley-VCH 2025-06-01
Series:ChemElectroChem
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/celc.202500056
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author Yeongseop Lee
Seong Hoon Kwak
Sangwon Kim
Hae Jung Son
Jin Young Kim
Ho Young Kim
Sang Hoon Joo
author_facet Yeongseop Lee
Seong Hoon Kwak
Sangwon Kim
Hae Jung Son
Jin Young Kim
Ho Young Kim
Sang Hoon Joo
author_sort Yeongseop Lee
collection DOAJ
description Enhancing the durability of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is critical for advancing a hydrogen‐powered clean energy future. A major obstacle to improving PEMFC durability is reactive oxygen species (ROS) that deteriorate PEMFC performance by oxidizing membrane electrode assembly (MEA). While CeOx‐based nanomaterials are widely used as antioxidants, they often undergo decline in efficacy by their nanostructure deformation, hampering stable PEMFC operation. Here, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are reported as a stabilizer for antioxidants, effectively alleviating the CeOx disintegration. MSNs facilitate the formation of uniformly dispersed CeOx nanoparticles smaller than 2 nm having abundant oxygen vacancies and high proportion of Ce(III) oxidation states. The well‐defined mesoporous structure of MSNs effectively confines CeOx in the internal voids and prevents CeOx agglomeration, thereby exhibiting sustained antioxidation efficacy within the Pt/C‐based electrodes. Importantly, CeOx/MSN mitigates the MEA degradation, retaining 95% of PEMFC performance even after 100 h durability tests under the ROS‐rich environment.
format Article
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issn 2196-0216
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publisher Wiley-VCH
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series ChemElectroChem
spelling doaj-art-509ab1a3973f4529ba3dd6ea84caba7d2025-08-20T03:10:42ZengWiley-VCHChemElectroChem2196-02162025-06-011212n/an/a10.1002/celc.202500056Mesoporous Silica‐Stabilized Ceria Antioxidants for Enhancing PEMFC DurabilityYeongseop Lee0Seong Hoon Kwak1Sangwon Kim2Hae Jung Son3Jin Young Kim4Ho Young Kim5Sang Hoon Joo6Advanced Photovoltaics Research Center Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) Seoul 02792 Republic of KoreaDepartment of Chemistry Seoul National University Seoul 08826 Republic of KoreaKorea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) Europe and Transfercenter Sustainable Electrochemistry Saarland University 66041 Saarbrücken GermanyAdvanced Photovoltaics Research Center Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) Seoul 02792 Republic of KoreaDivision of Energy & Environment Technology KIST School Korea National University of Science and Technology (UST) Seoul 02792 Republic of KoreaDepartment of Chemistry and Energy Engineering Sangmyung University Seoul 03016 Republic of KoreaDepartment of Chemistry Seoul National University Seoul 08826 Republic of KoreaEnhancing the durability of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is critical for advancing a hydrogen‐powered clean energy future. A major obstacle to improving PEMFC durability is reactive oxygen species (ROS) that deteriorate PEMFC performance by oxidizing membrane electrode assembly (MEA). While CeOx‐based nanomaterials are widely used as antioxidants, they often undergo decline in efficacy by their nanostructure deformation, hampering stable PEMFC operation. Here, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are reported as a stabilizer for antioxidants, effectively alleviating the CeOx disintegration. MSNs facilitate the formation of uniformly dispersed CeOx nanoparticles smaller than 2 nm having abundant oxygen vacancies and high proportion of Ce(III) oxidation states. The well‐defined mesoporous structure of MSNs effectively confines CeOx in the internal voids and prevents CeOx agglomeration, thereby exhibiting sustained antioxidation efficacy within the Pt/C‐based electrodes. Importantly, CeOx/MSN mitigates the MEA degradation, retaining 95% of PEMFC performance even after 100 h durability tests under the ROS‐rich environment.https://doi.org/10.1002/celc.202500056antioxidantsceriamembrane electrode assembliesmesoporous silicapolymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells
spellingShingle Yeongseop Lee
Seong Hoon Kwak
Sangwon Kim
Hae Jung Son
Jin Young Kim
Ho Young Kim
Sang Hoon Joo
Mesoporous Silica‐Stabilized Ceria Antioxidants for Enhancing PEMFC Durability
ChemElectroChem
antioxidants
ceria
membrane electrode assemblies
mesoporous silica
polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells
title Mesoporous Silica‐Stabilized Ceria Antioxidants for Enhancing PEMFC Durability
title_full Mesoporous Silica‐Stabilized Ceria Antioxidants for Enhancing PEMFC Durability
title_fullStr Mesoporous Silica‐Stabilized Ceria Antioxidants for Enhancing PEMFC Durability
title_full_unstemmed Mesoporous Silica‐Stabilized Ceria Antioxidants for Enhancing PEMFC Durability
title_short Mesoporous Silica‐Stabilized Ceria Antioxidants for Enhancing PEMFC Durability
title_sort mesoporous silica stabilized ceria antioxidants for enhancing pemfc durability
topic antioxidants
ceria
membrane electrode assemblies
mesoporous silica
polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells
url https://doi.org/10.1002/celc.202500056
work_keys_str_mv AT yeongseoplee mesoporoussilicastabilizedceriaantioxidantsforenhancingpemfcdurability
AT seonghoonkwak mesoporoussilicastabilizedceriaantioxidantsforenhancingpemfcdurability
AT sangwonkim mesoporoussilicastabilizedceriaantioxidantsforenhancingpemfcdurability
AT haejungson mesoporoussilicastabilizedceriaantioxidantsforenhancingpemfcdurability
AT jinyoungkim mesoporoussilicastabilizedceriaantioxidantsforenhancingpemfcdurability
AT hoyoungkim mesoporoussilicastabilizedceriaantioxidantsforenhancingpemfcdurability
AT sanghoonjoo mesoporoussilicastabilizedceriaantioxidantsforenhancingpemfcdurability