Organic aerogel as electro‐catalytic support in low‐temperature fuel cell

Abstract

Fuel cells have been developed efficiently in recent years as a secure and high-energy conversion technology. The innovation in electrocatalysis focuses on initiatives to minimize or replace Pt electrodes used. As an alternative, organic aerogel materials are normally used as electrodes in low temperature fuel cells due to their high electronic conducting and electrocatalytic characteristics. These are usually characterized by fundamental functional elements of strong covalent C-C bonds from organic precursors. This review will mainly focus on organic aerogel nanomaterials related to carbon aerogels, carbon nanotube aerogels, and graphene aerogels as electrocatalytic supports by surface modification or structural features in catalysis. In contrast, organic aerogel materials prove to be durable, economical, and active electrocatalysts that can provide outstanding electrocatalytic efficiency in low temperature fuel cell applications. Last, this paper recaps the challenges faced in current fuel cell applications and the use of organic aerogel materials to address these challenges.