SBIR Phase I: Co-Tolerant Electrocatalysts for Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells

这个小型企业创新研究的第一阶段项目解决了质子交换膜燃料电池使用重整氢的耐co阳极电催化剂的需求。提高对一氧化碳的耐受性将减少贵金属催化剂所需的负荷，并允许在不需要分离和净化氢的情况下对改造的碳氢燃料进行操作。所提出的方法是两种策略的协同组合，这两种策略已被证明在提高阳极电催化剂的效率和CO耐受性方面取得了成功。固有的活性和耐毒的高表面积支持材料将被使用。此外，支架将被修改以创建高度分散的双功能站点。第一阶段系统地研究了用于制备负载型催化剂材料的三个过程变量。分析了材料的组成和显微组织。将准备用于标准电化学活性测量的电极。在第二阶段，电极设计将被优化，电化学测量将扩展到评估全电池和堆叠电池的性能，作为催化剂负载、温度范围和燃料成分的函数。降低催化剂成本将解决PEM燃料电池用于车辆推进和离网发电商业化的一个关键障碍。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses the need for CO-tolerant anode electrocatalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells operating with reformate hydrogen. Improving the tolerance to carbon monoxide will reduce the required loadings of noble metal catalyst and permit operation on reformed hydrocarbon fuels without requiring separation and purification of the hydrogen. The proposed approach is a synergistic combination of two previous strategies that have proven successful in improving the efficiency and CO tolerance of anodic electrocatalysts. Inherently active and poison-tolerant high surface area support materials will be used. In addition, the supports will be modified to create highly disperse bifunctional sites. Phase I involved a systematic study of three process variables used in preparing the supported catalyst materials. The composition and microstructure of the materials will be analyzed. Electrodes will be prepared for standard electrochemical measurements of activity. In Phase II, electrode designs will be optimized and electrochemical measurements extended to evaluate full cell and stacked cell performance as a function of catalyst loading, temperature range and fuel composition. Reducing catalyst costs will address a key obstacle hindering the commercialization of PEM fuel cells for vehicle propulsion and off-grid electric power generation.