Progress on Platinum-Free Catalysts for Fuel Cells

As a pivotal clean and efficient secondary energy carrier, hydrogen energy has attracted significant global interest. Fuel cells, a core technology for hydrogen utilization, enable direct and efficient conversion of hydrogen into electrical energy. Nevertheless, the high cost and limited availability of platinum-based catalysts remain critical barriers to their widespread implementation. This paper systematically reviews the research advancements of non-platinum catalysts, with a focus on their applications in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) and alkaline membrane fuel cells (HEMFC). For PEMFC, the investigation centers on non-platinum noble metal materials and carbon-based materials, with diverse strategies employed to enhance their catalytic performance. In HEMFC, non-platinum cathode catalysts exhibit activity approaching that of platinum, yet the performance of non-platinum anode catalysts still demands improvement. Notably, a fully platinum-free HEMFC system has been successfully reported, showcasing substantial potential. Currently, non-platinum catalysts face three primary challenges: stability, activity, and toxicity. Future research should prioritize material design and surface modification to enhance stability, develop novel catalyst materials and optimize preparation processes to boost activity, and reduce toxicity through exploring new materials or constructing nano-protective layers on catalyst surfaces. Specifically, reducing PEMFC’s dependence on high-purity hydrogen via catalyst modification is expected to cut costs and facilitate broader applications. These strategies can also be extended to other fuel cell fields, driving overall technological progress.