New platinum nanocatalyst design could accelerate hydrogen fuel cell commercialization

Apr 03, 2026

Researchers developed a ternary platinum-cobalt-manganese nanocatalyst with tenfold higher activity and 96% durability retention for hydrogen fuel cells.

(Nanowerk News) A team of researchers in South Korea has developed a ternary platinum-based nanocatalyst that substantially outperforms conventional options in both activity and durability, addressing two persistent obstacles to widespread hydrogen fuel cell adoption. The platinum-cobalt-manganese nanocatalyst, described in a study published in Advanced Materials (“Tailoring Interfacial Oxygen Vacancy-Mediated Ordering in Ternary Pt3(Co,Mn)1 Intermetallic Nanoparticles for Enhanced Oxygen Reduction Reaction”), uses oxygen vacancies at the interface between the catalyst and its oxide support to achieve atomic-level structural control that was previously difficult to attain.

Key Findings

Hydrogen fuel cells produce electricity from the electrochemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen, making them one of the most promising clean energy technologies available. Yet commercialization has been held back by two related problems: the slow oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the cathode and the gradual breakdown of catalysts during extended use. Both issues are especially acute under the demanding conditions required for hydrogen-powered vehicles. (Left) Schematic illustration of the formation of a Pt–Co–Mn ternary intermetallic structure, where oxygen vacancies generated at the MnO interface drive atomic ordering within the catalyst. (Top right) The synthesized nanocatalyst exhibits a uniform atomic-scale structure with an even distribution of Mn, Co, and Pt. (Bottom right) Owing to these structural characteristics, the catalyst delivers high ORR activity and outstanding durability, outperforming conventional catalysts under practical fuel cell conditions. (Image: Sungkyunkwan University) Existing platinum-based intermetallic catalysts offer good structural stability, but their atomic composition and arrangement have proven difficult to fine-tune. That limitation has frustrated attempts to optimize the electronic structure needed for both high catalytic activity and long service life. The research team, led by Professor Sang Uck Lee at Sungkyunkwan University’s School of Chemical Engineering, tackled this problem through a new catalyst design strategy. Ph.D. candidate Jun Ho Seok served as co-first author, along with Dr. Sung Chan Cho. The group collaborated with Professor Kwangyeol Lee’s team at Korea University and Dr. Sung Jong Yoo’s team at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology. Their approach centers on a ternary intermetallic nanocatalyst composed of platinum, cobalt, and manganese. The critical step was exploiting oxygen vacancies that form at the interface between the catalyst and the oxide support material. These vacancies act as guides for atomic ordering within the structure, enabling the team to produce a ternary platinum-based intermetallic arrangement that had previously been extremely difficult to synthesize. To understand how this ordering occurs, the researchers developed a new computational method to probe the interfacial synthesis mechanism at the precursor stage, a process that cannot be observed directly through experiments. Their analysis revealed that oxygen vacancies generated early at the manganese oxide interface play a decisive role in driving manganese atoms into their ordered positions. This theoretical framework moves beyond conventional performance analysis and provides an atomic-level understanding of how the ternary intermetallic structure actually forms during synthesis. The optimized electronic structure of the resulting catalyst translated into strong practical performance. Electrochemical testing showed mass activity exceeding that of commercial Pt/C catalysts by more than a factor of ten. After 150,000 cycles of accelerated durability testing, the catalyst still retained more than 96% of its original performance, a level of stability that far exceeds typical benchmarks. In membrane electrode assembly tests, which simulate real operating conditions, the catalyst cleared the 2025 DOE performance targets. It also sustained higher power output than conventional catalysts under high-load conditions. These results point toward practical applicability in hydrogen electric vehicles and stationary fuel cell systems, two sectors where catalyst durability and efficiency remain critical barriers to broader deployment.