Brennan Coulter
Jul 12, 2012
Featured

Rethinking fuel cell catalysts

Even under ideal circumstances, platinum-based fuel cells lose a quarter of the total energy in the conversion process. "Using platinum [as a fuel cell catalyst] is like putting a resistor in the system," says Alfred Anderson, a Case Western Reserve University Chemistry Professor. Anderson blames the scientific community’s repeated failures to rectify the matter on the misconception that impurities on the platinum cathode are blocking the desired reaction. "The decades-old surface-poisoning explanation is lame, because there is more to the story" Anderson said. He found that intermediate molecules bond too tightly or loosely to the cathode, slowing the reaction and causing the voltage to drop from the potential maximum of 1.23 volt to around .93 volts. While Anderson freely admits that he doesn’t know what material should replace platinum, he notes a catalyst made of copper laccase has the desired bonding strength but lacks stability. He is continuing work to finding a better catalyst.