Anode contamination catalyst types

Finally, it should be realized that CO is not the only fuel (or fuel-derived) contaminant expected to affect anode performance in the PEFC. In a test of other possible contaminants that could result, in principle, from methanol reforming, Seymour et al. [27] reported strong and irreversible effects of formic acid at a PEFC platinum (high-loading) anode, whereas methanol, formaldehyde, and methyl formate were found to have much smaller and reversible effects. The fuel impurity aspects of coupling between natural gas (or gasoline) reformers of various types and a PEFC stack are even wider, and make it essential to probe and address, either by removal upstream or by use of modified catalysts, the possible detrimental effects of low levels of sulfur, H2S, COS, and NH3 [28]. 

The dominant type of PEMFC is the hydrogen/oxygen fuel cell, in which the anode is fed by hydrogen and the cathode is fed by oxygen or air. In this section, we will focus our attention on anode catalyst contamination caused by impurities in the hydrogen stream. 

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