Toyota hopes fuel cell research will lead to increased efficiency
Automotive manufacturer Toyota has made a breakthrough in its research that could result in more efficient fuel cell stacks.
The company claims to have developed an observation technique
which allows researchers to monitor the behaviour of nanometer-sized platinum particles during the chemical reaction in fuel cells.
This will allow the processes leading to reduced catalytic reactivity to be observed.
By observing the coarsening of platinum particles – when nanoparticles increase in size and decrease in surface area –researchers hope to find the starting point of the process.
Scientists will also measure voltage output during the coarsening process with the aim of improving the performance of the platinum catalyst and the fuel cell stack as a whole.
The breakthrough was made in partnership with Japan Fine Ceramics Center (JFCC).