Stable at a High Temperature

A conceptual diagram of single-atom catalyst developed by KIST

The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) announced that its research team led by Dr. Yoon Kyung-joong has developed an innovative single-atom catalyst in cooperation with Hanyang University professor Lee Yoon-jeong.

According to the institute, the catalyst uses a very small amount of platinum and yet is stable even at a high temperature of over 700 degrees Celsius, and thus it is capable of significantly enhancing the performance of a solid oxide fuel cell. “Each platinum atom in the catalyst reacts as a single atom, without agglomerating, even at a high temperature,” the research team explained, adding, “This means the platinum catalyst can be applied to solid oxide fuel cells as well as low-temperature fuel cells such as those in hydrogen electric vehicles.”

A solid oxide fuel cell, which is operable even at over 700 degrees Celsius, is the most efficient type of fuel cell. In addition, it enables combined cycle power generation in which hydrogen is reproduced by steam cracking during power generation. However, the fuel cell can be commercialized only when there is a catalyst that is stable at a high temperature.

Platinum-based catalysts, which are in wide use in the fuel cell industry, are incomparable in performance. However, the atoms of the catalysts tend to agglomerate and are structurally unstable at a high temperature and, as such, platinum-based single-atom catalysts have never been applied to solid oxide fuel cells for high-temperature operation.
 

The research team caused a strong bond between platinum atoms and cerium oxide nanoparticles and succeeded in fixing the atoms at a uniform distance of approximately one nanometer on the surface of the cerium oxide particles in a solid oxide fuel cell electrode. The catalyst boosted the reaction rate of the electrode by at least 1,000 percent and stably operated for more than 500 hours at over 700 degrees Celsius to quadruple power generation and hydrogen production.

The title of the team’s research paper is Highly Active and Thermally Stable Single-atom Catalysts for High Temperature Electrochemical Devices. Details of the research are available in the latest edition of the Energy & Environmental Science journal.

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