Abstract: Platinum-transition metal bimetallic alloys have attracted enormous attention in the field of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). It was suggested to replace seemingly indispensable platinum cathode catalyst. Along with reducing the cost, addition of transition metal to Pt induces its electronic and/or structural modifications so that it improves a sluggish kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, other than activity and cost, durability is another key issue that certainly deserves an attention as it is a prerequisite for of PEMFCs commercialization. The cathode catalyst in fuel cell needs to withstand corrosive conditions under high potentials and low pH which lead to its degradation. The corrosive degradation of fuel cell catalysts during its operation is a complex phenomenon involving an interplay between multiple mechanisms such as dissolution of both platinum and transition metal, Ostwald ripening, coalescence and carbon support corrosion. As a result, the PEMFC undergoes performance deterioration. Despite numerous works, a clear link between specific operating conditions of a fuel cell and above listed phenomena remains superficial. This is mainly because a vast majority of studies were limited by ex situ characterization techniques investigating catalyst only before and after reaction and lack true information about catalyst operando behavior. With the rising of the state-of-the-art in situ techniques, the behavior of fuel cell catalysts directly under reaction conditions is becoming a growing focus of researchers. Herein, I will present our recent results on the lifetime degradation of bimetallic fuel cell catalysts obtained using novel in situ techniques.

Keywords: Fuel Cells, Cathode Catalyst, Bimetallic Alloy, Degradation.

Biography: Dr. Ivan Khalakhan received a master’s degree from the Uzhhorod National University (Ukraine) in 2008 and a Ph.D degree from the Charles University (Czech Republic) in 2013. He currently occupies the position of a research scientist at the Department of Surface and Plasma Science, Charles University (Czech Republic). His research focuses on investigation of physico-chemical properties of metal, metal-oxide and bimetallic nanostructured systems as catalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Dr. Ivan Khalakhan is author/co-author of more than 75 scientific publications in material science and has an h-index 15.