Achilles’ heel of single atom catalysts towards practical PEMFC application: Degradation mechanisms and regulatory strategies

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is deemed as an efficient and eco-friendly technology with high energy conversion rate and low start-up temperature. Large-scale commercialization of PEMFC, however, has been severely retarded by insufficient power, short life span and high costs of Pt-base...

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Main Authors: Han Guo, Peng Zhang, Siying Huang, Min Li, Guangxun Sun, Jiaye Li, Yan Lin, Bin Liu, Yuan Pan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Tsinghua University Press 2025-03-01
Series:Nano Research Energy
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Online Access:https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/NRE.2024.9120144
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author Han Guo
Peng Zhang
Siying Huang
Min Li
Guangxun Sun
Jiaye Li
Yan Lin
Bin Liu
Yuan Pan
author_facet Han Guo
Peng Zhang
Siying Huang
Min Li
Guangxun Sun
Jiaye Li
Yan Lin
Bin Liu
Yuan Pan
author_sort Han Guo
collection DOAJ
description Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is deemed as an efficient and eco-friendly technology with high energy conversion rate and low start-up temperature. Large-scale commercialization of PEMFC, however, has been severely retarded by insufficient power, short life span and high costs of Pt-based catalysts. Substantial progress on cost-effective single-atom catalysts (SACs) have witnessed significant improvements of sluggish cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and anodic hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) for PEMFC. Nevertheless, practical application of SACs is plagued by degradation issues even though numerous studies said that SACs are comparable or even surpass Pt/C catalysts. The resulting question, “What is the Achilles’ heel of SACs towards practical PEMFC application?” is herein the centerpiece of this review. Recent advanced development of SACs towards PEMFC devices, covering HOR and ORR is presented from fundamental insights to practical application. In view of the requirement for efficient PEMFC, the structure design and regulation of SACs are targeted to improve the performance and service life of PEMFC. This review points out the existing issues and design principles of SACs, which are expected to pave the way for efficient PEMFC application.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2791-0091
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language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher Tsinghua University Press
record_format Article
series Nano Research Energy
spelling doaj-art-a2fbf3c8ab9440f88eeb99018901351d2025-08-20T03:42:47ZengTsinghua University PressNano Research Energy2791-00912790-81192025-03-0141e912014410.26599/NRE.2024.9120144Achilles’ heel of single atom catalysts towards practical PEMFC application: Degradation mechanisms and regulatory strategiesHan Guo0Peng Zhang1Siying Huang2Min Li3Guangxun Sun4Jiaye Li5Yan Lin6Bin Liu7Yuan Pan8State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, ChinaCollege of Energy Storage Technology, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, ChinaProton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is deemed as an efficient and eco-friendly technology with high energy conversion rate and low start-up temperature. Large-scale commercialization of PEMFC, however, has been severely retarded by insufficient power, short life span and high costs of Pt-based catalysts. Substantial progress on cost-effective single-atom catalysts (SACs) have witnessed significant improvements of sluggish cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and anodic hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) for PEMFC. Nevertheless, practical application of SACs is plagued by degradation issues even though numerous studies said that SACs are comparable or even surpass Pt/C catalysts. The resulting question, “What is the Achilles’ heel of SACs towards practical PEMFC application?” is herein the centerpiece of this review. Recent advanced development of SACs towards PEMFC devices, covering HOR and ORR is presented from fundamental insights to practical application. In view of the requirement for efficient PEMFC, the structure design and regulation of SACs are targeted to improve the performance and service life of PEMFC. This review points out the existing issues and design principles of SACs, which are expected to pave the way for efficient PEMFC application.https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/NRE.2024.9120144fuel cellsingle-atom catalystsdegradation mechanismregulatory strategy
spellingShingle Han Guo
Peng Zhang
Siying Huang
Min Li
Guangxun Sun
Jiaye Li
Yan Lin
Bin Liu
Yuan Pan
Achilles’ heel of single atom catalysts towards practical PEMFC application: Degradation mechanisms and regulatory strategies
Nano Research Energy
fuel cell
single-atom catalysts
degradation mechanism
regulatory strategy
title Achilles’ heel of single atom catalysts towards practical PEMFC application: Degradation mechanisms and regulatory strategies
title_full Achilles’ heel of single atom catalysts towards practical PEMFC application: Degradation mechanisms and regulatory strategies
title_fullStr Achilles’ heel of single atom catalysts towards practical PEMFC application: Degradation mechanisms and regulatory strategies
title_full_unstemmed Achilles’ heel of single atom catalysts towards practical PEMFC application: Degradation mechanisms and regulatory strategies
title_short Achilles’ heel of single atom catalysts towards practical PEMFC application: Degradation mechanisms and regulatory strategies
title_sort achilles heel of single atom catalysts towards practical pemfc application degradation mechanisms and regulatory strategies
topic fuel cell
single-atom catalysts
degradation mechanism
regulatory strategy
url https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/NRE.2024.9120144
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