Fuel cell designers need to look beyond the catalyst to the support material
Tuesday, June 30, 2015 - 05:00
in Physics & Chemistry
Quickly, reliably turning wind energy into fuel means looking beyond the catalyst to its foundation, according to a recent study from the Center for Molecular Electrocatalysis, headquartered at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Led by Dr. James Mayer from Yale University, the team discovered that the foundation or supporting film has as substantial an impact as the catalyst structure itself. The reason? The technique used to place the support changes the mesoscale environment, the atomic landscape that stretches for several millimeters around the iron catalyst.