Today, there are about 1 billion cars and trucks speeding on roads around the world, but only a very small number of vehicles are powered by hydrogen. According to foreign media reports, researchers at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark have made a breakthrough that may change this situation. Researchers have developed a new type of catalyst that can help produce cheaper and more sustainable hydrogen-powered cars.
Hydrogen fueled vehicles are rare, partly because such vehicles require large amounts of platinum (about 50 grams) as a catalyst for their fuel cells. Under normal circumstances, ordinary cars only need 5 grams of platinum. In addition, this material is rare and expensive, and South Africa can only mine 100 tons a year.
Now, researchers in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Copenhagen have developed a catalyst that does not require large amounts of platinum. This new type of catalyst can produce greater efficiency per gram of platinum, greatly improving fuel cells, and making hydrogen fuel cell production more sustainable.
Since only the surface of the catalyst is active, it is necessary to cover the surface with as many platinum atoms as possible, and the catalyst must be durable. Therefore, in order to allow the catalyst to have as much surface area as possible, the existing catalysts are all based on platinum nanoparticles with carbon coating. Unfortunately, carbon makes the catalyst unstable. However, the new catalyst developed by the researchers does not contain carbon and uses a network of nanowires with a large surface area and durability instead of using nanoparticles.
The next step for the researchers is to expand their research results in order to apply the technology to hydrogen fuel vehicles.