TY - JOUR
T1 - Heterogeneous Engineering-Induced Electron Enrichment in Carbon Support for High-Stability Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells
AU - Liu, Rui
AU - Dong, Feilong
AU - Lv, Zunhang
AU - Fan, Haiyang
AU - Tian, Chongao
AU - Li, Jiaxin
AU - Feng, Xiao
AU - Wang, Bo
AU - Yang, Wenxiu
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Wiley-VCH GmbH.
PY - 2026/1/28
Y1 - 2026/1/28
N2 - The widespread adoption of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is significantly hindered by the rapid degradation of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts under harsh operational conditions. Here, a CeOx-integrated heterogeneous carbon support engineering strategy is proposed to stabilize the Co-N4-C catalyst (Co SAs/CeOx-NC), achieving simultaneous activity-stability enhancement in PEMFCs. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the enhanced binding energy between Co and the carbon support, combined with the reducibility provided by the electron-rich nature of the carbon support, synergistically suppresses Co dissolution and carbon oxidation corrosion. Concurrently, the CeOx-induce interfacial charge redistribution downshifts the Co d-band center by 0.12 eV, weakening the over-adsorption of oxygenated intermediates and enhancing ORR kinetics. The optimized Co SAs/CeOx-NC catalyst demonstrates exceptional durability in acidic media (ΔE1/2 = 8 mV after 5k cycles at high potential of 1.0–1.6 V), outperforming the control Co SAs/NC catalyst (ΔE1/2 = 30 mV). The Co SAs/CeOx-NC-based PEMFC achieves outstanding peak power density of 1.04 W cm−2 and durability (95% voltage retention after 150 h open-circuit conditions test).
AB - The widespread adoption of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is significantly hindered by the rapid degradation of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts under harsh operational conditions. Here, a CeOx-integrated heterogeneous carbon support engineering strategy is proposed to stabilize the Co-N4-C catalyst (Co SAs/CeOx-NC), achieving simultaneous activity-stability enhancement in PEMFCs. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the enhanced binding energy between Co and the carbon support, combined with the reducibility provided by the electron-rich nature of the carbon support, synergistically suppresses Co dissolution and carbon oxidation corrosion. Concurrently, the CeOx-induce interfacial charge redistribution downshifts the Co d-band center by 0.12 eV, weakening the over-adsorption of oxygenated intermediates and enhancing ORR kinetics. The optimized Co SAs/CeOx-NC catalyst demonstrates exceptional durability in acidic media (ΔE1/2 = 8 mV after 5k cycles at high potential of 1.0–1.6 V), outperforming the control Co SAs/NC catalyst (ΔE1/2 = 30 mV). The Co SAs/CeOx-NC-based PEMFC achieves outstanding peak power density of 1.04 W cm−2 and durability (95% voltage retention after 150 h open-circuit conditions test).
KW - carbon corrosion resistance
KW - catalyst durability
KW - metal-support interaction
KW - oxygen reduction reaction
KW - proton exchange membrane fuel cells
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105022607365
U2 - 10.1002/aenm.202504582
DO - 10.1002/aenm.202504582
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105022607365
SN - 1614-6832
VL - 16
JO - Advanced Energy Materials
JF - Advanced Energy Materials
IS - 4
M1 - e04582
ER -