Browsing by Author "Blair, Sharon"

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    Evaluation of metal nitrides and borides as alternative electrocatalyst support materials for polymer electrolyte fuel cells
    (2014) Khoza, Thulile P; Blair, Sharon; Levecque, Pieter B J
    Polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) have wide variety of commercial applications, however due to poor durability and high cost, this technology has currently not reached its commercialization stage. Poor durability is mainly attributed to carbon support corrosion during start-up and shut-down of the fuel cell. Corrosion of the electrocatalyst support materials has numerous adverse effects on the performance of the fuel cell, such as weakening of metal-support interaction which results in Pt detachment, dissolution and sintering. Hence, the electrochemical active surface area is significantly reduced. It is clear that there is an urgent need for more robust, high performance alternative support materials to carbon. In this study, metal nitrides and borides (TiN, ZrN, TiB₂ , ZrB₂ and LaB₆) were evaluated as potential support materials, in an attempt to improve the durability and performance of PEFCs.