Novel cathode electrodes for PEM fuel cells

Supervisors: Professor Mohamed Pourkashanian, Professor Lin Ma, Dr Kevin Hughes

Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells can operate at low temperatures and are scalable. Therefore, they can be used in a wide range of applications, such as portable, automotive and stationary applications. The cathode electrode is the main source of performance loss in PEM fuel cells.

This is due to low utilisation of the catalyst and the slow reaction rate. The main objective of this project is to optimise the structure of the cathode electrode to substantially increase its utilisation. Modelling tools will be used to optimise the structures of the catalyst before synthesising and testing them.

For further information contact Professor Derek B Ingham (d.ingham@sheffield.ac.uk).