Enhancing Fuel Cell Durability with Heteroenergetic TaOx-Carbon Support

Abstract

Attaining the high durability of supported metal catalysts in heterogeneous catalysis remains a significant challenge. Here, we introduce a mixed tantalum oxide-carbon support for an oxygen reduction reaction catalyst in alkaline fuel cells, aiming to address the degradation arising from suboptimal metal-support interactions. The composite support, conceptualized as a heteroenergetic support, comprises two distinct components exhibiting substantially disparate affinities for metal nanoparticles (NPs). This unique configuration ensures the effective stabilization of the metal NPs on the support. The Au-doped Pd NPs on the mixed tantalum oxide-carbon support exhibit fully sustained mass activity even after a 10000-cycle accelerated durability test. This exceptional durability is ascribed to the effective suppression of the particle agglomerations, as elucidated through transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Our study highlights the efficacy of a heteroenergetic support as a compelling approach for achieving ultradurability in catalytic operations and indicates the broad applicability of this strategy for diverse reactions.