Owing to their environment-friendly attributes and high efficiency in the electricity generation, Fuel cells are gaining popularity for Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV) production, such as forklifts, automobiles, airplanes and buses.
However, one of the challenges that the industry is facing regarding the mass-production and large-scale application of FCVs is the high cost involved in producing fuel cell catalysts.
Fuel cell catalysts are usually made of platinum (Pt) or Pt alloys with transition metals that are thinly coated onto the porous carbon supports.
The characteristic of Platinum to withstand the acidic conditions and increase the rate of chemical reactions efficiently makes it a perfect option as a catalyst.
However, being expensive and limited availability are the limitations with Platinum.
Therefore, scientists are looking out for new catalysts with low Pt quantity and high catalytic activity so that fuel cell can be produced on a commercial scale without inc...