Theoretical studies on membranes and non-platinum catalysts for polymer electrolyte fuel cells

Mechanism of proton transfer among high-density acid groups in the interface between organic and inorganic materials for polymer electrolyte fuel cells has been theoretically examined. It has been clearly shown that the interactions between the phosphate groups at the surface of the inorganic material, zirconium phosphate (ZrP), and the adsorbed water molecules are relatively large and a strong hydrogen-bond network is generated locally. Because of the strong interactions, water molecules can be attached to ZrP and the O–O distance becomes shorter than that in bulk water systems. Because of the short O–O distances and the delocalized charge of each atom, the activation energy of proton transfer at the ZrP surface decreases and causes high proton conductivity even under conditions of high temperature and low humidity. Based on the above studies, the origin of the high proton conductivity of hybrid electrolytes is also discussed. We will also discuss the mechanism of oxygen reduction reaction on non-platinum catalysts such as Ta₃N₅