Non-noble Electrocatalysts for the PEM Fuel Cell Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, including direct liquid (methanol, ethanol, and formic acid) fuel cells (DLFCs), have drawn a great deal of attention in recent years as energy conversion devices, due to their high efficiency and low/zero emissions. It is generally recognized that one of the key advantages of the PEM fuel cell stack is its fitness for the automobile industry as a zero-emission power supply. But while great progress has been made in the last several decades in the research and development of PEM fuel cells [1–3], the major challenges hindering fuel cell commercialization, i.e., high cost and low durability, are still unsolved. One of the major contributors to cost is fuel cell catalysis (platinum (Pt)- based catalysts). Therefore, new alternative catalysts to reduce or replace expensive Pt are necessary.