Development of novel 3D metal silicide nanowires as electrocatalyst support for low cost and high durability PEM fuel cells

在质子交换膜燃料电池(PEMFC)系统变得经济可行之前，成本和耐用性是必须克服的两大障碍。目前的PEMFC技术仍然存在铂利用率低、传质能力有限、电极结构中炭黑载体的电化学稳定性差等问题。因此，新颖的电极设计和开发一种低成本、稳定的催化剂载体来取代膜电极组件(MEA)中现有的碳载体，将为我们提供减少成本和性能差距的手段，从而实现商业可行性。该项目的目标是通过西安大略大学(UWO)和通用汽车加拿大有限公司(GM)的申请者之间的合作研究，应用一类具有特殊性质(高稳定性和导电性)的新型纳米材料，以应对燃料电池高成本和低稳定性的重大挑战。拟议的研究项目与金属硅化物纳米线载体、贵金属纳米颗粒及其复合材料的制备和表征有关，以获得显著改善用于汽车燃料电池的纳米材料的性能和性能。一个重要的技术特征是合成和使用基于金属硅化物纳米线的特殊低维纳米材料(如TiSi2，TaSi2和WSi2)，具有良好的热稳定性和耐腐蚀性，以及极高的导电性作为催化剂载体。这一创新研究项目将充分利用申请者在清洁能源纳米技术方面的专业知识。预计所开发的技术可以显著降低燃料电池的成本并提高稳定性，并可转移到通用汽车的燃料电池产品中。通用汽车和UWO的孙博士将通过新纳米材料的创造性和创新性应用来合作应对这些挑战。拟议项目的成功完成将加速燃料电池商业化进程，并直接减少环境污染，从而有利于加拿大工业、UWO和纳米科技界。

Cost and durability are two major roadblocks that have to be overcome before proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system can become economically viable. Current PEMFC technology still suffers from low platinum utilization, limited mass transport capability, and poor electrochemical stability of the carbon black-based support in the electrode structure. Therefore, novel electrode design, and development of a low cost and stable catalyst support to replace existing carbon support within membrane electrode assembly (MEA), will provide us the means to reduce the cost and performance gaps towards commercial viability. The objectives of the project are to apply a class of novel nanomaterials with special properties (high stability and electrical conductivity) to address significant challenges of high cost and low stability in fuel cells through a collaborative research between the applicants at The University of Western Ontario (UWO) and General Motors Canada Ltd (GM). The proposed research project is associated with fabrication and characterization of metal silicide nanowire supports, noble metal nanoparticles and their composites to obtain significantly improved properties and performance of the nanomaterials used in fuel cells for automotive applications. An important technical feature is to synthesize and use special low-dimensional nanomaterials based on metal silicide nanowires (e.g. TiSi2, TaSi2 and WSi2) with excellent thermal stability and corrosion resistance as well as extremely high electrical conductivity for use as catalyst supports. This innovative research project will take full advantage of the applicants' expertise in nanotechnology for clean energy. It is expected that the developed techniques could significantly lower cost and improve stability of fuel cells and could be transferred to GM's fuel cell products. GM and Dr. Sun at UWO will collaboratively approach these challenges through the creative and innovative applications of new nanomaterials. The successful completion of the proposed project will be of benefit to Canadian industry, UWO, and to the nanotechnology community by accelerating the fuel cell commercialization process and directly reducing environmental pollution.