Porous Carbon Supports for Low-Pt Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Jiabin You; Jing Hu; Zhifeng Zheng; Huiyuan Li; Liuxuan Luo; Xiaojing Cheng; Xiaohui Yan; Shuiyun Shen; Junliang Zhang

doi:10.1007/s41918-025-00259-8

Electrochemical Energy Reviews ›› 2025, Vol. 8 ›› Issue (1) :22 DOI: 10.1007/s41918-025-00259-8

Review Article

review-article

Porous Carbon Supports for Low-Pt Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

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¹Institute of Fuel Cells, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240, Shanghai, China

², Joint Research Laboratory by SJTU-Fuel Cell Institute and Wenjing Energy Co., Ltd., 200240, Shanghai, China

³MOE Key Laboratory of Power and Machinery Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240, Shanghai, China

yanxiaohui@sjtu.edu.cn

shuiyun_shen@sjtu.edu.cn

junliang.zhang@sjtu.edu.cn

Jiabin You

Jiabin You received his Bachelor's degree from Xiamen University in 2019 and completed his Ph.D degree at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) in 2024 under the supervision of Prof. Junliang Zhang. He is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Zhang's group. His present study focuses on oxygen transport and structure optimization in cathodes of catalyst layers of low Pt loading proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs).

Jing Hu

Jing Hu is the leading scientist of joint research laboratory by Shanghai Jiao Tong University-Fuel Cell Institute and Wenjing Energy co. She received her Ph.D degree from the University of Missouri-Rolla and worked as a post-doctor research scientist in University of Houston. Her key expertise is in metal and alloy material processing, micro- and nano-manufacturing, laser and plasma technologies.

Zhifeng Zheng

Zhifeng Zheng received his Bachelor's degree from the Harbin Institute of Technology in 2016 and completed his Ph.D degree at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2022 under the supervision of Prof. Junliang Zhang. He also worked as a guest scientist in the group of Prof. Michael H. Eikerling in IEK13, Forschungszentrum Jülich during 2021–2022. His present study focuses on coupling behaviors of proton & oxygen transport and catalyst oxidation in PEMFCs, mathematical modeling of the performance and degradation of PEMFCs, and study of control algorithms and strategies in PEMFC systems under different conditions.

Huiyuan Li

Huiyuan Li obtained her Ph.D degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) in 2024, and currently serves as a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Junliang Zhang's group at SJTU. Her research focuses on the mass transport mechanism at triple phase boundaries within cathode catalyst layers (CCLs) of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Additionally, she is actively involved in developing electrode structures with enhanced efficiency and durability.

Liuxuan Luo

Liuxuan Luo is an Assistant Professor (Research Scientist) of the Institute of Fuel Cells, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He received his Bachelor degree from Xi’an Jiaotong University and both Master and Ph.D degrees from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He has ever worked as a post-doctoral fellow in both Shanghai Jiao Tong University and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His major interests lie in energy-related electrocatalysis, electrochemistry, nanotechnology, device design, etc. So far, he has published 66 peer-reviewed journal articles, which have been cited for more than 1 100 times, as well as co-invented over 9 patents. He has ever been funded by the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation and the Hong Kong Research Talent Hub for Innovation and Technology Fund (RTH-ITF). He is now a member of the Chinese Chemical Society and serving as a review editor for Frontiers in Chemistry.

Xiaojing Cheng

Xiaojing Cheng received her Ph.D degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) in 2021, and work as a postdoctor at SJTU. She focuses on the oxygen transport mechanism in cathode catalyst layers (CCLs) of low and ultralow Pt loading proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), including the gas diffusion in porous electrodes, gas permeation in Nafion ionomer films, as well as gas transport in gas diffusion layers and flow fields.

Xiaohui Yan

Xiaohui Yan is an associate professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Energy and Power Engineering at Xi’an Jiaotong University in 2012 and Ph.D degree in Mechanical Engineering at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2016. His research interests focus on the transport phenomena in PEM fuel cells and PEM water electrolysis cells. He has published over 80 peer-reviewed papers in fuel cells and water electrolysis. He won the first prize of Shanghai Technology Invention Award and Outstanding Teaching Award of SJTU.

Shuiyun Shen

Shuiyun Shen is a professor of the Institute of Fuel Cells, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. She received her Bachelor and Master degrees both from the Harbin Institute of Technology and Ph.D degree from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She has ever worked as a postdoctor in The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Her key expertise is in electrochemistry, electrocatalysis and fuel cells. She has published over 140 peer-reviewed journal articles on electrochemical energy conversion and storage, which have been cited for more than 5 000 times so far. She co-authored two books and co-invented 20 plus patents. She won the first prize of Shanghai Technology Invention Award in 2020, ranked second.

Junliang Zhang

Junliang Zhang is Chair Professor, Director of Institute of Fuel Cells, Director of Academic Affairs Office of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). He received his BS and MS degrees from SJTU in 1994 and 1997, respectively, and his Ph.D degree from State University of New York at Stony Brook in 2005. He then worked as a Research Associate till 2007 at Brookhaven National Laboratory. From 2007–2011, Dr. Zhang worked at General Motors Global Research & Development, Electrochemical Energy Research Laboratory, as a Research Scientist and later a Senior Scientist and Team Leader. In 2011, he joined the Institute of Fuel Cells at SJTU. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles on electrochemical energy conversion and storage, which have been cited for more than 22 000 times so far. He authored 2 books, and co-invented over 70 patents. He currently serves as an editorial board member for Fuel Cells and Frontiers in Energy. He is also a director of the China Fuel Cell Vehicle Industry Alliance and the Deputy Director of the Shanghai Research Center for Electrochemical Energy Devices. He won the first prize for Technical Invention from Shanghai Municipality in 2020 and the first prize of Scientific and Technological Progress from the China Society of Automotive Engineers in 2024.

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Abstract

Attaining both high performance and long-term durability remains a critical yet challenging objective for low-Pt proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The carbon support on which catalysts and ionomers are dispersed strongly affects the cell performance by influencing the Pt activity, mass transport, and degradation. Currently, porous carbons endowed with a high surface area and internally embedded Pt particles are gaining prominence as promising support materials for low-Pt PEMFCs owing to their exceptional catalyst dispersion and kinetic activity. However, challenges in terms of unclear triple-phase boundaries, poor mass transport, and insufficient durability hinder their widespread implementation. Thus, this review provides a comprehensive understanding of and advanced guidelines for the exploration of porous carbons in low-Pt PEMFCs. We begin by analyzing the structures and morphologies of porous carbon catalysts to obtain an overview of their pore structures, Pt deposition, ionomer distribution, and water condensation. We subsequently summarize the mass transport mechanisms involved, exploring state-of-the-art strategies for improving mass transport through engineering accessible pore structures, tailoring uniform ionomer distributions, and incorporating well-defined ionic liquids, among other approaches. Furthermore, we highlight the effects of catalysts and porous carbon degradation on performance loss and introduce recent approaches to mitigate performance loss. Finally, we present conclusions along with outlooks on future exploration priorities. This extensive analysis of current challenges and advances in porous carbon supports is offered to inspire innovative ideas and technologies for the development of next-generation carbon supports for low-Pt PEMFCs.

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Keywords

Porous carbon supports / Mass transport / Degradation / Cathode catalyst layers / Proton-exchange membrane fuel cell

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Jiabin You, Jing Hu, Zhifeng Zheng, Huiyuan Li, Liuxuan Luo, Xiaojing Cheng, Xiaohui Yan, Shuiyun Shen, Junliang Zhang. Porous Carbon Supports for Low-Pt Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells. Electrochemical Energy Reviews, 2025, 8(1): 22 DOI:10.1007/s41918-025-00259-8

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