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 (H-2) and H-2 contaminated with hydrogen sulfide (H2S). The dependence of the current on the overpotential for all the anodic material will be tested at 145 degrees C using H-2 and H-2 + H2S. Alternative anodic materials for HT-PEMFCs with high tolerance to H2S will be presented.