Integration of a Pd-CeO2/C Anode with Pt and Pt-Free Cathode Catalysts in High Power Density Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

• Published in: ACS applied energy materials 2020-10, Vol.3 (10), p.10209-10214
• Main Authors: Miller, Hamish A, Pagliaro, Maria V, Bellini, Marco, Bartoli, Francesco, Wang, Lianqin, Salam, Ihtasham, Varcoe, John R, Vizza, Francesco
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2574-0962; 2574-0962
• DOI: 10.1021/acsaem.0c01998

Recent advances in developing high-performance anion exchange membranes (AEMs) for fuel cell (AEMFC) applications enable catalyst developers to investigate and test cheaper and/or more sustainable materials under operando fuel cell conditions. In this article, we integrate a high-performance Pd-CeO2/C hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) catalyst into AEMFCs in combination with different Pt and Pt-free cathodes. A H2/O2 AEMFC peak power performance of 2 W cm–2 at 80 °C is obtained when using a Pt/C cathode (2 A cm–2 is achieved at a cell voltage of 0.6 V), which translates to 1 W cm–2 peak power density (0.7 A cm–2 is achieved at 0.6 V) at 60 °C with the switch to a cheap, critical raw material (CRM)-free Fe/C cathode catalyst.