Engineers at Yale University, United States, have created a new fuel cell catalyst system that uses nanowires made of bulk metallic glass (BMG), which has a high surface area that exposes more of the catalyst. The use of the novel material, BMG, boosts long-term performance by 2.4 times compared to today’s technology. Andr\u00e9 Taylor, one of the engineers, said, “In order to produce more efficient fuel cells, you want to increase the active surface area of the catalyst, and you want your catalyst to last.” The BMG nanowires are three times smaller than carbon black particles, which are used by current fuel cells, and their long, thin shape give them much more active surface area compared to carbon black. The platinum catalyst is incorporated into the nanowire alloy itself, instead of putting it onto a support material, as has been done traditionally. The nanowires also conduct electricity better than carbon black and are less expensive to process. “This is the introduction of a new class of materials that can be used as electrocatalysts,” Taylor said. “It’s a real step toward making fuel cells commercially viable and, ultimately, supplementing or replacing batteries in electronic devices.” The team’s findings appear on the cover of the April issue of the journal ACS Nano. The article can be viewed online at the link below.<\/p>\n
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