Development of Stronger and Longer-Lasting Alkaline Fuel Cell Catalysts Using 'Ingongbeongae'

KIST Research Team Develops "Cobalt-Based Single-Atom Catalyst"

Conceptual diagram of a catalyst for next-generation alkaline fuel cells using artificial lightning developed by the KIST research team.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Domestic researchers have succeeded in producing high-efficiency catalysts used in alkaline fuel cells (AFC), a next-generation eco-friendly energy source, by utilizing artificial lightning.

The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) announced on the 17th that a research team led by Dr. Kim Nam-dong of the Functional Composite Materials Research Center and Dr. Yoo Sung-jong of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Research Center developed a core technology that enables mass production of cobalt-based single-atom catalysts with both low cost and high performance at a commercial scale (10g/h scale) through a single-step reaction using arc discharge (artificial lightning) employed in electric welding.

AFC converts the chemical energy of hydrogen and oxygen into electrical energy, emitting only water during the energy generation process, thus attracting attention as a next-generation eco-friendly energy source. The problem is that platinum catalysts are used, making it expensive and having limitations in stability. Therefore, scientists are developing single-atom catalysts (SACs) formed on carbon supports. However, there remains the issue that complex processes are required to prevent metal atoms from clustering, which leads to degradation of catalyst performance.

The research team focused on the characteristic of arc discharge’s high energy state, where various elements decompose to atomic levels and then recombine. By mixing metal and carbon materials and subjecting them to the arc discharge process, metals decompose to atomic levels and bond by filling the lattice of highly crystalline nanocarbon, enabling catalyst synthesis without clustering. The catalyst developed by the team exhibits more than twice the oxygen reduction reaction performance and over ten times the durability compared to platinum catalysts. When applied to actual fuel cells, it operates with performance significantly surpassing existing cobalt-based catalysts. They also confirmed that this single-atom catalyst synthesis method can be universally applied to various transition metals including cobalt, manganese, nickel, and iron, as well as platinum.

Dr. Kim said, "The key point is that it is now possible to use low-cost catalysts instead of expensive platinum catalysts while improving the performance and durability of catalysts for next-generation alkaline fuel cells." He added, "This could greatly contribute to carbon neutrality and hydrogen economy construction, as it has high potential for application not only in the design and manufacturing processes of next-generation alkaline fuel cells but also in various electrochemical conversion systems."

The research results were published as an Inside Back Cover paper in the latest issue of the international materials science journal Small Methods (IF: 14.188, JCR top 7.057%).

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