CARBONS FOR FUEL CELL ENERGY GENERATION

The growing interest in renewable energy has driven the development of fuel cell technologies. However, their mass use still depends on improving durability and lowering costs. Electrode materials play a crucial role in the cost, stability and performance of fuel cells. A suitable electrode should have a high specific surface area, electroactivity, corrosion resistance, electrical conductivity and be cost-effective. Carbon materials have been used as one of the electrode materials almost from the beginning, as carbon is an abundant element and carbon-based materials can be specifically adapted for this purpose. This review provides a detailed description of the evolution of carbon materials as electrocatalyst supports for fuel cells. Starting with the traditional catalysts of platinum supported on carbon black and how alternatives have been proposed with the aim to reduce the content of noble metals or even replace them completely with other active elements such as transition metals, oxides or/and other heteroatoms, without sacrificing the necessary good performance of the fuel cell. Despite the great effort performed the effective combination of active-phase/carbon-support has not yet been revealed. However, constant advances in the design of advanced materials with highly controlled properties make it a feasible goal in the near future if all the key factors are known. This review compiles the advantages and failures of different strategies proposed so far and suggests where the development of new carbon materials should focus to achieve efficient electrodes and energy generation based on fuel cells.