New Electrocatalysts by Combinatorial Methods

Combinatorial methods provide a means for accelerating the discovery of fuel cell catalysts. The first example of parallel fuel cell catalysts screening was an indirect method that used fluorescent chemosensors to detect changes in pH in proximity to electrocatalyst spots. Serial direct electrochemical methods have been developed that use voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and scanning electrochemical microscopy. An array fuel cell screens catalysts simultaneously, using high-performance fuel cell components. Heuristic models based on mechanistic and spectroscopic studies provide guidance for library development, and detailed studies of discovered catalysts can help to refine these models. The remaining challenges are the development of high throughput synthetic methods that can enable the use of discovery level and focus level screening. Until these synthetic methods are developed, a greater emphasis should be placed on smaller libraries with design of experiment strategies leveraged with informatics and data mining.