Boosting Fuel Cell Durability under Shut-Down/Start-Up Conditions Using a Hydrogen Oxidation-Selective Metal–Carbon Hybrid Core–Shell Catalyst

Abstract

Performance degradation generated by reverse current flow during fuel cell shut-down/start-up is a big challenge for commercialization of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells in automobile applications. Under transient operating conditions, the formation of H₂/O₂ boundaries on Pt surfaces and the occurrence of undesired oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in an anode cause severe degradation of carbon supports and Pt catalysts in a cathode because of an increase of the cathode potential up to ∼1.5 V. Herein, to directly prevent the formation of H₂/O₂ boundaries in the anode, we propose a unique metal-carbon hybrid core-shell anode catalyst having Pt nanoparticles encapsulated in nanoporous carbon shells for selective H₂ permeation. This hybrid catalyst exhibits high hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) selectivity along with fully subdued ORR activity during long-term operation because of the excellent stability of the carbon molecular sieves. Furthermore, the HOR-selective catalyst effectively suppresses the reverse current flow in a single cell under shut-down/start-up conditions.