Owing to high energy efficiency and density, polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) are very attractive for transportation and stationary applications. However, commercialization of the PEMFC technology is hindered by problems such as high cost, complexity of the system, and durability of the polymer membrane, electrode and catalyst materials.
Despite enormous progress in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells, development of catalysts with maximum activity and durability and minimum loading are still the core challenges. Catalyst supports are also very important in this respect. Generally, proper catalyst support materials must have large specific surface areas to support catalyst nanoparticles, high electrical conductivity to promote fast electron transfer, strong affinity towards the nanoparticles and stability under the operating conditions to provide stable catalyst structures.
