Scientists have devised a method for integrating expensive platinum and a cheap rare earth element, lanthanum, as an alloy to function as a catalyst in the following generation of fuel cells that will reduce their cost and enhance their performance. The development needs to make it simpler to decarbonize heavy transport vehicles, which are less cooperative in using batteries to power them.
Platinum-lanthanum nanoparticles acting as electrocatalysts to speed up the chemical reaction in a hydrogen fuel cell to produce electricity and water. Image Credits: Nano Research, Tsinghua University Press
This approach is explained in a paper published on August 4th, 2022, in the journal Nano Research.
Batteries might have succeeded in the fight against hydrogen fuel cells for easily powering cars. However, several other types of transportation find it tough to exchange internal combustion…