Carbon nanostructure improves fuel-cell catalyst durability while reducing platinum use
The explosion of new data centers being proposed and built around the U.S. has increased demand for energy to keep them powered and cooled. The Electric Power Research Institute estimates that data centers could consume up to 9% of U.S. electricity generation annually by 2030, up from 4% of total load in 2023.
A team of researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, led by Gang Wu, has developed a novel carbon nanostructure that enhances the durability and reduces the platinum usage of fuel-cell catalysts. This advancement is crucial as the demand for energy to power and cool data centers in the U.S. is projected to increase significantly by 2030.
The new carbon nanostructure features porous, hollow carbon spheres with radial nanochannels, which effectively support highly dense and well-dispersed platinum-cobalt intermetallic nanoparticles. This unique structure allows for the formation of the necessary intermetallic structure at higher temperatures while maintaining uniform nanoparticle dispersion.
The researchers demonstrated that their approach overcame the trade-off between atomic ordering and nanoparticle dispersion, enabling the catalyst to operate at high temperatures (up to 1,000°C) while retaining 85% of its performance after 150,000 voltage cycles. This breakthrough could significantly improve the efficiency and sustainability of fuel-cell technologies, ultimately helping to alleviate the energy demand of data centers and transportation.
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