Fuel Cells Application of Atomically Dispersed Metallic Materials

Abstract

Advanced ex-situ and in-situ/operando characterization methods are also highly promoted for distinguishing deterioration processes during the fuel-cell operation. Most published literature to date have emphasized the highest power density of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) in the low-voltage range (0.5 V), which is used as an assessment criterion for the MEA performance. It is worth mentioning, however, that the actual working voltage of PEMFCs should be kept at around 0.6–0.9 V to make water and heat management simpler and to achieve high energy efficiency. To offer an objective and realistic assessment of the MEA performance, current densities at specified voltages (0.6–0.9 V) should also be supplied, in addition to the maximum power density. (vi) It is worth mentioning that the MEA performance improvement is a massive, systematic engineering project encompassing everything from catalyst design to electrode preparation for effective fuel-cell operation, and it takes a lot of personnel, material resources, and time. Machine learning techniques should be promoted to optimize the MEA performance efficiently and correctly. (vii) In future works, more test and technical information, as well as performance assessment criteria, will be made available to better compare findings from various organizations. In summary, single-atom catalysis has opened up a new avenue for developing high-performance M–N–C catalysts that can replace noble metal catalysts, but there is still a long way to go before they can be used in PEMFCs.