Novel conductive metal oxide catalyst supports for fuel cells

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Current polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) technology rely heavily on Pt electrocatalysts to drive the anodic and cathodic reactions. Normally, Pt nanoparticles are dispersed onto a high surface carbon support (Pt/C) to maximize the surface area of the catalyst and increased cell performance. While carbon black has been the de facto catalyst support in fuel cell over the last 30 years, it is a liability when it comes to durability since it is prone to corrosion under the highly acidic and oxidative operating conditions of a PEM fuel cell. This is detrimental to the long-term performance of a fuel cell and hinders the longevity of fuel cell devices.****This proposal is focused on the study and enhancement of a new innovative fuel cell support technology, titanium sub-oxides doped with both Mo and Si (TOMS). This new support material has extremely high stability to corrosion and remarkable high electronic conductivity, considerably larger than any other metal oxide-based support developed to date. Because of this, the TOMS support technology is highly attractive for deployment in fuel cell systems for automotive and stationary power applications. It is expected that the results from this project will lead to the development of higher-performing and lower-cost fuel cells, which will enable Canada to meet its clean energy needs.****