We are excited to share pioneering work from Dr. Selda Özkan, under the guidance of Professor John Irvine CBE, Production Theme Lead for the UK Hydrogen Research and Engineering Hub at the University of St Andrews.
Published in 2024 in Advanced Energy Materials, a prime-applied journal that disseminates the best science from well-established and emerging researchers so they can fulfil their mission and maximise the reach of their scientific discoveries, their latest paper presents a novel electrocatalyst design that significantly reduces precious metal content without compromising performance
The research, titled “A New Approach to Fuel Cell Electrodes: Lanthanum Aluminate Yielding Fine Pt Nanoparticle Exsolution for Oxygen Reduction Reaction”, was co-written by Selda Özkan, Seo Jin Kim, David N. Miller, and John T. S. Irvine to tackle the challenge of reducing platinum loading while enhancing catalyst efficiency through improved nanoparticle dispersion.
Using a low-temperature exsolution technique, the team achieved uniform dispersion of fine Pt nanoparticles (1–3 nm) on a 0.5% Pt-doped LaAlO₃ perovskite oxide. The resulting electrocatalyst demonstrates excellent activity and durability for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media.
This approach paves the way for high-performance, cost-effective hydrogen fuel cells and electrolysers with minimal precious metal use and demonstrates a key advancement towards sustainable hydrogen technologies.
