Researchers working on two separate studies have developed methods of improving the performance of platinum electro-catalysts in fuel cells.

Although platinum is currently regarded as the most efficient electro-catalyst for accelerating the chemical reactions in fuel cells, turning fuels such as hydrogen into electricity, research published in the journal Science suggests ways in which its performance can be improved.

The first study, conducted by the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, found that platinum's efficiency as a catalyst could be improved if "clusters" of gold molecules were added. This kept the platinum from dissolving as it tended to do under typical operating conditions.

"Existing fuel cell technology still has drawbacks including loss of platinum cathode electro-catalysts," commented coauthor of the study, Radoslav Adzic.

"Using a new technique that we developed to deposit gold atoms on platinum, our team was able to show promise in helping to resolve this problem."

The researchers now say that the next step is to try and duplicate the results in real fuel cells.

A second separate study also reported in Science found that the performance of platinum in fuel cells could be improved by producing a platinum-nickel alloy.

The researchers, from universities in the US and the UK, found that the alloy was up to ten times faster in facilitating the necessary reactions in the fuel cell than platinum alone.

Ÿ Adfero Ltd