Hard X-rays probe model fuel-cell catalyst
Thursday, December 2, 2010 - 18:00
in Physics & Chemistry
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource have developed a new, more powerful way to probe the behavior of a key component in hydrogen fuel cells. The group shone SSRL's high-energy X-rays on a single-atom layer of platinum to illuminate how the metal helps the generation of electrical power inside a fuel cell. SSRL Research Associate Daniel Friebel led the work, together with Anders Nilsson of both SSRL and the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, a joint SLAC-Stanford institute. The new experimental approach appeared online recently in Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, a publication of the Royal Chemical Society.