Single-atom catalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cell: Anode anti-poisoning & characterization technology

Abstract

Commercial Pt/C, as the most widely used anode catalyst in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), is greatly affected by even trace amounts of CO in hydrogen (< 10 ppm). Metal isolated single atomic catalysts (SACs) exhibit the merit of both homogeneous catalysts in their high metal site usage and the heterogeneous catalysts in their facile recyclability. Despite considerable progress achieved recently, most of the reported SACs suffer from either insufficient activity or unsatisfactory stability, which severely retards their practical application. Therefore, endeavors in exploring efficient and durable catalysts have become the focus of international scientific SACs community, in hoping to promote industrial revolution with their unique adsorption and catalytic behaviors. In this review, we focused on the application of SACs towards CO tolerance in PEMFCs, with the anti-poisoning mechanism been especially emphasized and anodic fuels including CO contaminated H2, formic acid, and methanol been discussed.