Abstract
Fuel cell is foreseen as the future energy device that utilises electrochemical reactions to generate electricity. In fuel cell device, the main components that are responsible for the process are electrocatalyst and membrane. Nonetheless, the late introduction of this technology to the market is attributed to the high component cost, contributed by the heavy utilisation of catalysts such as platinum. Nanotechnology is thus foreseen to be one of the feasible solutions in the perspective of reducing the catalyst loading and replacement of non-Pt catalysts with other nanomaterials. This chapter focuses on the application of nanotechnology that is aligned with the few main efforts in resolving the abovementioned issue such as reducing Pt loading, developing Pt-free catalysts and metal-free catalysts. In essence, the development of nanosized catalysts takes the advantage of increasing the electrochemical active surface area per unit volume that can reduce the catalysts loading. Besides, the ability to modify the structure of the nanocatalysts is beneficial in tailoring in catalytic activity. More interestingly, carbon nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes and graphene can be modified at the atomic level to become electrochemically active catalysts to realise the introduction of metal-free catalyst. Detailed mechanisms regarding the reactions are discussed in this chapter. It is foreseen that nanotechnology will remain as the mainstream in the research on the materials related to fuel cell technology that is able to eventually resolve the technical issues.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Abdel Hameed RM (2017a) Enhanced ethanol electro-oxidation reaction on carbon supported Pd-metal oxide electrocatalysts. J Colloid Interface Sci 505:230–240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2017.05.095
Abdel Hameed RM (2017b) Facile preparation of Pd-metal oxide/C electrocatalysts and their application in the electrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol. Appl Surf Sci 411:91–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2017.03.108
Acres GJK et al (1997) Electrocatalysts for fuel cells. Catal Today 38:393–400. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0920-5861(97)00050-3
Antoniassi RM, Silva JCM, Oliveira Neto A, Spinacé EV (2017) Synthesis of Pt+SnO2/C electrocatalysts containing Pt nanoparticles with preferential (100) orientation for direct ethanol fuel cell. Appl Catal B Environ 218:91–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2017.06.031
Anwar MT, Yan X, Shen S, Husnain N, Zhu F, Luo L, Zhang J (2017) Enhanced durability of Pt electrocatalyst with tantalum doped titania as catalyst support. Int J Hydrog Energy 42:30750–30759. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.10.152
Bag S, Raj CR (2016) On the electrocatalytic activity of nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide: does the nature of nitrogen really control the activity towards oxygen reduction? J Chem Sci 128(3):339–347. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12039-016-1034-z
Carvalho LL, Colmati F, Tanaka AA (2017) Nickel–palladium electrocatalysts for methanol, ethanol, and glycerol oxidation reactions. Int J Hydrog Energy 42:16118–16126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.05.124
Chen Y, Wang J, Liu H, Banis MN, Li R, Sun X, Sham TK, Ye S, Knights S (2011) Nitrogen doping effects on carbon nanotubes and the origin of the enhanced electrocatalytic activity of supported pt for proton-exchange membrane fuel cells. J Phys Chem C 115(9):3769–3776. https://doi.org/10.1021/jp108864y
Chetty R et al (2009) PtRu nanoparticles supported on nitrogen-doped multiwalled carbon nanotubes as catalyst for methanol electrooxidation. Electrochim Acta 54:4208–4215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2009.02.073
Choi CH, Chung MW, Kwon HC, Park SH, Woo SI (2013) B, N- and P, N-doped graphene as highly active catalysts for oxygen reduction reactions in acidic media. J Mater Chem A 1(11):3694–3699. https://doi.org/10.1039/C3TA01648J
Davies JC, Hayden BE, Offin L (2017) Stabilising oxide core—platinum shell catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction. Electrochim Acta 248:470–477. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2017.07.132
El-Khatib KM, Hameed RMA, Amin RS, Fetohi AE (2017) Core–shell structured Cu@Pt nanoparticles as effective electrocatalyst for ethanol oxidation in alkaline medium. Int J Hydrog Energy 42:14680–14696. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.04.118
Esfandiari A, Kazemeini M, Bastani D (2016) Synthesis, characterization and performance determination of an Ag@Pt/C electrocatalyst for the ORR in a PEM fuel cell. Int J Hydrog Energy 41:20720–20730. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2016.09.097
Ferreira Frota E, Silva de Barros VV, de Araújo BRS, Gonzaga Purgatto Â, Linares JJ (2017) Pt/C containing different platinum loadings for use as electrocatalysts in alkaline PBI-based direct glycerol fuel cells. Int J Hydrog Energy 42:23095–23106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.07.125
Fetohi AE, Amin RS, Hameed RMA, El-Khatib KM (2017) Effect of nickel loading in Ni@Pt/C electrocatalysts on their activity for ethanol oxidation in alkaline medium. Electrochim Acta 242:187–201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2017.05.022
Garcia AC, Ferreira EB, Silva de Barros VV, Linares JJ, Tremiliosi-Filho G (2017) PtAg/MnOx/C as a promising electrocatalyst for glycerol electro-oxidation in alkaline medium. J Electroanal Chem 793:188–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jelechem.2016.11.053
Geatches DL, Clark SJ, Greenwell HC (2012) Iron reduction in nontronite-type clay minerals: modelling a complex system. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 81:13–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2011.12.013
Geng D, Liu H, Chen Y, Li R, Sun X, Ye S, Knights S (2011) Non-noble metal oxygen reduction electrocatalysts based on carbon nanotubes with controlled nitrogen contents. J Power Sources 196(4):1795–1801. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2010.09.084
Guo S-D, Hu X-C, Yang J-G, Chen H, Zhou Y (2016) Palladium nanoparticles supported on hollow mesoporous Tungsten carbide microsphere as electrocatalyst for formic acid oxidation. J Fuel Chem Technol 44:698–702. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1872-5813(16)30034-2
Habibi B, Mohammadyari S (2016) Palladium nanoparticles/nanostructured carbon black composite on carbon–ceramic electrode as an electrocatalyst for formic acid fuel cells. J Taiwan Inst Chem Eng 58:245–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtice.2015.05.033
Higgins D, Chen Z, Chen Z (2011) Nitrogen doped carbon nanotubes synthesized from aliphatic diamines for oxygen reduction reaction. Electrochim Acta 56(3):1570–1575. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2010.11.003
Hoque MA et al (2016) Optimization of sulfur-doped graphene as an emerging platinum nanowires support for oxygen reduction reaction. Nano Energy 19:27–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2015.11.004
Hsieh C-T, Lin J-Y, Yang S-Y (2009) Carbon nanotubes embedded with PtRu nanoparticles as methanol fuel cell electrocatalysts. Physica E 41:373–378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physe.2008.08.060
Huang T, Zhang D, Xue L, Cai W-B, Yu A (2009) A facile method to synthesize well-dispersed PtRuMoOx and PtRuWOx nanoparticles and their electrocatalytic activities for methanol oxidation. J Power Sources 192:285–290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2009.03.037
Jeon MK, Cooper JS, McGinn PJ (2009a) Investigation of PtCoCr/C catalysts for methanol electro-oxidation identified by a thin film combinatorial method. J Power Sources 192:391–395. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2009.02.087
Jeon MK, Zhang Y, McGinn PJ (2009b) Effect of reduction conditions on electrocatalytic activity of a ternary PtNiCr/C catalyst for methanol electro-oxidation. Electrochim Acta 54:2837–2842. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2008.11.027
Jia J, Shao M, Wang G, Deng W, Wen Z (2016) Cu3PdN nanocrystals electrocatalyst for formic acid oxidation. Electrochem Commun 71:61–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elecom.2016.08.009
Jia N, Shi Y, Zhang S, Chen X, Chen P, An Z (2017) Carbon nanobowls supported ultrafine palladium nanocrystals: a highly active electrocatalyst for the formic acid oxidation. Int J Hydrog Energy 42:8255–8263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2016.12.136
Jiang J, Kucernak A (2009) Synthesis of highly active nanostructured PtRu electrocatalyst with three-dimensional mesoporous silica template. Electrochem Commun 11:623–626. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elecom.2008.12.040
Jukk K, Kongi N, Tammeveski K, Arán-Ais RM, Solla-Gullón J, Feliu JM (2017) Loading effect of carbon-supported platinum nanocubes on oxygen electroreduction. Electrochim Acta 251:155–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2017.08.099
Jürmann G, Schiffrin DJ, Tammeveski K (2007) The pH-dependence of oxygen reduction on quinone-modified glassy carbon electrodes. Electrochim Acta 53(2):390–399. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2007.03.053
Karousos DS, Desdenakis KI, Sakkas PM, Sourkouni G, Pollet BG, Argirusis C (2017) Sonoelectrochemical one-pot synthesis of Pt—carbon black nanocomposite PEMFC electrocatalyst. Ultrason Sonochem 35:591–597. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultsonch.2016.05.023
Karuppasamy L, Chen CY, Anandan S, Wu JJ (2017) High index surfaces of Au-nanocrystals supported on one-dimensional MoO3-nanorod as a bi-functional electrocatalyst for ethanol oxidation and oxygen reduction. Electrochim Acta 246:75–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2017.06.040
Kübler M, Jurzinsky T, Ziegenbalg D, Cremers C (2018) Methanol oxidation reaction on core-shell structured Ruthenium-Palladium nanoparticles: relationship between structure and electrochemical behavior. J Power Sources 375:320–334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2017.07.114
Lai L et al (2012) Exploration of the active center structure of nitrogen-doped graphene-based catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction. Energy Environ Sci 5:7936–7942. https://doi.org/10.1039/C2EE21802J
Lee KR, Jeon MK, Woo SI (2009) Composition optimization of PtRuM/C (M=Fe and Mo) catalysts for methanol electro-oxidation via combinatorial method. Appl Catal B Environ 91:428–433. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2009.06.011
Li D, Yu Y, Jin Q, Gao Z (2014) Maximum power efficiency operation and generalized predictive control of PEM (proton exchange membrane) fuel cell. Energy 68:210–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2014.02.104
Li S et al (2017) Monodispersed porous flowerlike PtAu nanocrystals as effective electrocatalysts for ethanol oxidation. Appl Surf Sci 422:172–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2017.05.246
Liao M et al (2017) Highly active Pt decorated Pd/C nanocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction. Int J Hydrog Energy 42:24090–24098. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.08.003
Lu X, Li Z, Yin X, Wang S, Liu Y, Wang Y (2017) Controllable synthesis of three-dimensional nitrogen-doped graphene as a high performance electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction. Int J Hydrog Energy 42(27):17504–17513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.02.090
Ma Y et al (2017) A general strategy to the synthesis of carbon-supported PdM (M = Co, Fe and Ni) nanodendrites as high-performance electrocatalysts for formic acid oxidation. J Energy Chem 26:1238–1244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jechem.2017.10.024
Maldonado S, Morin S, Stevenson KJ (2006) Structure, composition, and chemical reactivity of carbon nanotubes by selective nitrogen doping. Carbon 44(8):1429–1437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2005.11.027
Maya-Cornejo J, Arjona N, Guerra-Balcázar M, Álvarez-Contreras L, Ledesma-García J, Arriaga LG (2014) Synthesis of Pd-Cu bimetallic electrocatalyst for ethylene glycol and glycerol oxidations in alkaline media. Procedia Chem 12:19–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proche.2014.12.036
Maya-Cornejo J, Garcia-Bernabé A, Compañ V (2018) Bimetallic Pt-M electrocatalysts supported on single-wall carbon nanotubes for hydrogen and methanol electrooxidation in fuel cells applications. Int J Hydrog Energy 43:872–884. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.10.097
Moreno B, Chinarro E, Pérez JC, Jurado JR (2007) Combustion synthesis and electrochemical characterisation of Pt–Ru–Ni anode electrocatalyst for PEMFC. Appl Catal B Environ 76:368–374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2007.06.012
Nabil Y, Cavaliere S, Harkness IA, Sharman JDB, Jones DJ, Rozière J (2017) Novel niobium carbide/carbon porous nanotube electrocatalyst supports for proton exchange membrane fuel cell cathodes. J Power Sources 363:20–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2017.07.058
Okada T, Inoue KY, Kalita G, Tanemura M, Matsue T, Meyyappan M, Samukawa S (2016) Bonding state and defects of nitrogen-doped graphene in oxygen reduction reaction. Chem Phys Lett 665(Supplement C):117–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cplett.2016.10.061
Okamoto Y (2009) First-principles molecular dynamics simulation of O2 reduction on nitrogen-doped carbon. Appl Surf Sci 256(1):335–341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2009.08.027
Sánchez M, Pierna AR, Lorenzo A, Del Val JJ (2016) Effect of cocatalyst and composition on catalytic performance of amorphous alloys for ethanol electrooxidation and PEMFCs. Int J Hydrog Energy 41:19749–19755. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2016.06.064
Shafaei Douk A, Saravani H, Noroozifar M (2017) Novel fabrication of PdCu nanostructures decorated on graphene as excellent electrocatalyst toward ethanol oxidation. Int J Hydrog Energy 42:15149–15159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.04.280
Shahgaldi S, Hamelin J (2015) The effect of low platinum loading on the efficiency of PEMFC’s electrocatalysts supported on TiO2–Nb, and SnO2–Nb: an experimental comparison between active and stable conditions. Energy Convers Manag 103:681–690. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2015.06.050
Shui J, Wang M, Du F, Dai L (2015) N-doped carbon nanomaterials are durable catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction in acidic fuel cells. Sci Adv 1(1):e1400129. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1400129
Soo LT, Loh KS, Mohamad AB, Daud WRW, Wong WY (2016) Effect of nitrogen precursors on the electrochemical performance of nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide towards oxygen reduction reaction. J Alloy Comp 677(Supplement C):112–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2016.03.214
Vineesh TV, Kumar MP, Takahashi C, Kalita G, Alwarappan S, Pattanayak DK, Narayanan TN (2015) Bifunctional electrocatalytic activity of boron-doped graphene derived from boron carbide. Advanced Energy Mater 5(17):1500658. https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201500658
Wang S, Zhang L, Xia Z, Roy A, Chang DW, Baek J-B, Dai L (2012) BCN graphene as efficient metal-free electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction. Angew Chem Int Ed 51(17):4209–4212. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201109257
Wang W, Kang Y, Yang Y, Liu Y, Chai D, Lei Z (2016a) PdSn alloy supported on phenanthroline-functionalized carbon as highly active electrocatalysts for glycerol oxidation. Int J Hydrog Energy 41:1272–1280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.11.017
Wang Y, Luo H, Li G, Jiang J (2016b) Highly active platinum electrocatalyst towards oxygen reduction reaction in renewable energy generations of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Appl Energy 173:59–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.04.019
Wong WY, Daud WRW, Mohamad AB, Kadhum AAH, Loh KS, Majlan EH (2013) Influence of nitrogen doping on carbon nanotubes towards the structure, composition and oxygen reduction reaction. Int J Hydrog Energy 38(22):9421–9430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2013.01.189
Wong WY, Daud WRW, Mohamad AB, Kadhum AAH, Loh KS, Majlan EH, Lim KL (2014) The impact of loading and temperature on the oxygen reduction reaction at nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes in alkaline medium. Electrochim Acta 129(Supplement C):47–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2014.02.084
Wong WY, Daud WRW, Mohamad AB, Loh KS (2015) Effect of temperature on the oxygen reduction reaction kinetic at nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes for fuel cell cathode. Int J Hydrog Energy 40(35):11444–11450. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.06.006
Xing T, Zheng Y, Li LH, Cowie BCC, Gunzelmann D, Qiao SZ, Huang S, Chen Y (2014) Observation of active sites for oxygen reduction reaction on nitrogen-doped multilayer graphene. ACS Nano 8(7):6856–6862. https://doi.org/10.1021/nn501506p
Xiong X, Chen W, Wang W, Li J, Chen S (2017) Pt-Pd nanodendrites as oxygen reduction catalyst in polymer-electrolyte-membrane fuel cell. Int J Hydrog Energy 42:25234–25243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.08.162
Xu X, Yuan T, Zhou Y, Li Y, Lu J, Tian X, Wang D, Wang J (2014) Facile synthesis of boron and nitrogen-doped graphene as efficient electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline media. Int J Hydrog Energy 39(28):16043–16052. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2013.12.079
Xu H, Yan B, Li S, Wang J, Wang C, Guo J, Du Y (2018) One-pot fabrication of N-doped graphene supported dandelion-like PtRu nanocrystals as efficient and robust electrocatalysts towards formic acid oxidation. J Colloid Interface Sci 512:96–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2017.10.049
Yahya N, Kamarudin SK, Karim NA, Masdar MS, Loh KS (2017) Enhanced performance of a novel anodic PdAu/VGCNF catalyst for electro-oxidation in a glycerol fuel cell. Nanoscale Res Lett 12:605. https://doi.org/10.1186/s11671-017-2360-x
Yang L, Jiang S, Zhao Y, Zhu L, Chen S, Wang X, Wu Q, Ma J, Ma Y, Hu Z (2011) Boron-doped carbon nanotubes as metal-free electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction. Angew Chem Int Ed 50(31):7132–7135. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201101287
Yang F, Zhang Y, Liu P-F, Cui Y, Ge X-R, Jing Q-S (2016) Pd–Cu alloy with hierarchical network structure as enhanced electrocatalysts for formic acid oxidation. Int J Hydrog Energy 41:6773–6780. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2016.02.145
Ye W et al (2017) Pt4PdCu0.4 alloy nanoframes as highly efficient and robust bifunctional electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction and formic acid oxidation. Nano Energy 39:532–538. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2017.07.025
Yu L, Pan X, Cao X, Hu P, Bao X (2011) Oxygen reduction reaction mechanism on nitrogen-doped graphene: a density functional theory study. J Catal 282(1):183–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcat.2011.06.015
Yuan W, Zhang J, Shen PK, Li CM, Jiang SP (2016) Self-assembled CeO2 on carbon nanotubes supported Au nanoclusters as superior electrocatalysts for glycerol oxidation reaction of fuel cells. Electrochim Acta 190:817–828. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2015.12.152
Zehtab Yazdi A, Fei H, Ye R, Wang G, Tour J, Sundararaj U (2015) Boron/nitrogen Co-doped helically unzipped multiwalled carbon nanotubes as efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 7(14):7786–7794. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5b01067
Zhang J, Wang Z, Zhu Z, (2013) A density functional theory study on oxygen reduction reaction on nitrogen-doped graphene. J Mol Model 19(12):5515–5521.
Zhang B, Yu J, Tang H, Du L, Li C, Liao S (2017a) Platinum-decorated palladium-nanoflowers as high efficient low platinum catalyst towards oxygen reduction. Int J Hydrog Energy 42:22909–22914. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.07.135
Zhang X-J, Zhang J-M, Zhang P-Y, Li Y, Xiang S, Tang H-G, Fan Y-J (2017b) Highly active carbon nanotube-supported Ru@Pd core-shell nanostructure as an efficient electrocatalyst toward ethanol and formic acid oxidation. Molec Catal 436:138–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcat.2017.04.015
Zhang J et al (2018) Stable palladium hydride as a superior anode electrocatalyst for direct formic acid fuel cells. Nano Energy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2017.11.075
Zheng Y, Jiao Y, Ge L, Jaroniec M, Qiao SZ (2013) Two-step boron and nitrogen doping in Graphene for enhanced synergistic catalysis. Angew Chem Int Ed 52(11):3110–3116. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201209548
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wong, W.Y., Karim, N.A. (2019). Nanotechnology: Emerging Opportunities for Fuel Cell Applications. In: Siddiquee, S., Melvin, G., Rahman, M. (eds) Nanotechnology: Applications in Energy, Drug and Food. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99602-8_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99602-8_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-99601-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-99602-8
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)