Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysts toward Practical Fuel Cells: Progress and Perspectives

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Renewable Energy

Background:

• Fuel cells offer powerful renewable energy solutions.
• High cost and poor reliability of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts hinder fuel cell adoption.
• Current ORR electrocatalysts face challenges in translating performance from lab-scale testing to membrane electrode assemblies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advancements in ORR electrocatalysts for fuel cells.
• To identify fundamental issues limiting the practical application of ORR electrocatalysts.
• To suggest future research directions for efficient ORR electrocatalyst development.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of recent progress in ORR electrocatalysts.
• Analysis of performance translation challenges from rotating disk electrode to membrane electrode assembly.
• Identification of key areas for future research and development.

Main Results:

• Significant progress has been made in ORR electrocatalyst development.
• A critical gap exists in translating RDE performance to MEA performance in fuel cells.
• Several promising avenues for future research are identified.

Conclusions:

• Addressing the cost and reliability of ORR electrocatalysts is crucial for fuel cell commercialization.
• Further research is needed to bridge the performance gap between lab-scale and practical fuel cell applications.
• Future work should focus on large-scale preparation, unified assessment, advanced characterization, simulation, and AI.