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Automotive Engineering ›› 2025, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (11): 2178-2186.doi: 10.19562/j.chinasae.qcgc.2025.11.012

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Single-Atom Catalysts Empowering Next-Generation Fuel Cells: From Computational Screening to Application

Haonian Liu1,Xin Cai1,Michael Harenbrock2,Rui Lin1()   

  1. 1.School of Automotive Studies,Tongji University,Shanghai 201804
    2.MANN+HUMMEL GmbH,Ludwigsburg 71636,Germany
  • Received:2025-03-31 Revised:2025-05-19 Online:2025-11-25 Published:2025-11-28
  • Contact: Rui Lin E-mail:ruilin@tongji.edu.cn

Abstract:

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell is a green power generation technology that has attracted much attention in today's energy field, with the advantages of high-energy conversion efficiency and environmental friendliness. However, the high-cost precious metal catalysts have limited its large-scale application. Single-atom catalysts, with the high atom utilization, low cost, and good selectivity, show great potential for application in the catalytic reaction of fuel cells, and are an important direction for the development of fuel cell catalysts in the future. In this paper, the constitutive relationship and practical application of single-atom catalysts in proton exchange membrane fuel cells are systematically elaborated, particularly focusing on their roles in anodic antitoxicity and cathodic oxygen reduction. The structural characteristics and application advantages of both platinum-based and non-platinum-based single-atom catalysts are introduced in details, with high-throughput computational methodologies summarized integrating first-principle calculations with machine learning, which offers innovative approaches for efficient catalyst screening and atomic-scale precise design in fuel cell development. Furthermore, opportunities and remaining challenges in advancing single-atom catalysts for next-generation fuel cell technologies are outlined, providing theoretical foundation and technical reference for the future development and application of single-atom catalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells.

Key words: single-atom catalysts, proton exchange membrane fuel cells, anodic antitoxicity, cathodic oxygen reduction, first-principles calculation, machine learning