Development of anodic materials for HT-PEMFCs with high tolerance to H2S

Contaminant species are present in small amounts in the fuel produced by hydrocarbon reforming, which powers HT-PEMFCs. This can lead to significant deactivation of the electrodes, and consequently reduce the performance of the fuel cell. In this context, the development of Pt-based electrodes with a high tolerance to H2S, and the evaluation of their electrocatalytic activity under working conditions, is required. This paper will describe the behavior of Pt and other Pt-M electrodes during the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) under steady state conditions, using pure hydrogen (H2) and H2 contaminated with hydrogen sulfide (H2S). The dependence of the current on the overpotential for all the anodic material will be tested at 145 °C using H2 and H2 + H2S. Alternative anodic materials for HT-PEMFCs with high tolerance to H2S will be presented.