Palladium in fuel cell catalysis

Carbon supported platinum is commonly used as anode and cathode electrocatalyst in low-temperature fuel cells fuelled with hydrogen or low molecular weight alcohols. The cost of Pt and the limited world supply are significant barriers to the widespread use of these types of fuel cells. Moreover, platinum used as anode material is readily poisoned by carbon monoxide, present in the reformate gas used as H2 carrier in the case of polymer electrolyte fuel cells, and a byproduct of alcohol oxidation in the case of direct alcohol fuel cells. In addition, Pt alone does not present satisfactory activity for the oxygen reduction reaction when used as cathode material. For all these reasons, binary and ternary…