UConn researchers and collaborators at Technion \u2013 Israel Institute of Technology developed a theoretical model that will expediate the development of affordable fuel cells.<\/p>\n
Radenka Maric, UConn\u2019s vice president for research, innovation and entrepreneurship; Dario Dekel from Technion\u2019s Chemical Engineering Department; S. Pamir Alpay, UConn\u2019s associate dean for research and industrial partnerships; and Sanjubala Sahoo, a research scientist in Alpay\u2019s group published their findings in ACS Catalysis<\/a> in February.<\/p>\n The model analyzed the electronic structure and associated functional properties of a palladium-ceria catalyst for the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR), a critical process in clean energy conversion.<\/p>\n The model determines how various materials and material combinations will interact. This theoretical knowledge will aid in the identification of ideal candidates for developing a precious-metal-free fuel cell catalyst.<\/p>\n Currently, fuel cell catalysts rely on precious metals like platinum or palladium. These metals are expensive and not widely available.<\/p>\n Companies like Toyota are already manufacturing fuel cell cars on a small scale, but the cost-ineffectiveness of fuel cells has hampered widespread application.<\/p>\n \u201cThe technology is coming,\u201d Maric says. \u201cBut in order to have high volume and penetration in many parts of the world, the technology needs to be cheaper.\u201d<\/p>\n Sahoo designed the model based on a palladium-ceria catalyst Dekel had proven to be effective in previous studies. By working backward and validating a known winning combination, the researchers developed a model that determined what properties make this catalyst work.<\/p>\n There are nearly endless combinations of possible materials that could produce an efficient, affordable fuel cell catalyst. This tool will enable researchers to quickly test if a material has the correct properties and only then move to testing it in the lab. This will lead to tremendous time savings.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout that theoretical help, we would waste years testing what\u2019s going on,\u201d Dekel says.<\/p>\n The discovery of Teflon, a popular synthetic material, took 20 years. If a tool like this had existed for that technology, it could have taken as few as three years by eliminating the need for an exhausting trial-and-error approach.<\/p>\n There has been little theoretical work on fuel cell catalysts to date.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very challenging topic,\u201d Dekel says. \u201cJust to understand what kind of assumptions we can make in this system, that\u2019s a huge advancement.\u201d<\/p>\n The model determines the electronic and physical properties that create a highly active and highly stable catalyst capable of efficiently catalyzing the HOR.<\/p>\n The researchers combined their experimental experience with theoretical knowledge to engage in a mutually beneficial collaboration.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re not developing theory in a vacuum,\u201d Alpay says. \u201cYou\u2019re doing this with people who have done experimental work, who know what it\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n With this preliminary proof of the group\u2019s capabilities and success, the researchers are now seeking additional funding opportunities to continue this work.<\/p>\n UConn and Technion have had a relationship for several years under the UConn-Technion Energy Collaboration Initiative<\/a>. Both are world leaders in fuel cell catalyst research.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a very natural collaboration between two high-powered experimental groups,\u201d Alpay says.<\/p>\n Through their experience with experimentation, theory, and industry, the team has the capacity to take this work all the way from basic science research to applications and product development.<\/p>\n The development of affordable fuel cells could revolutionize energy, greatly reducing reliance on fossil fuels for a host of applications from transportation to energy grids.<\/p>\n UConn is particularly well-positioned to lead this research. Connecticut has established itself as a leader in fuel cell manufacturing, and state-of-the-art facilities and expert faculty at UConn enable cutting-edge research.<\/p>\n “We have to think of this science as global,\u201d Maric says. \u201cThe infrastructure and facilities at UConn position UConn very strongly to be a global player.\u201d<\/p>\n Follow UConn Research on<\/em> Twitter<\/em><\/a> &<\/em> LinkedIn<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" UConn researchers and collaborators at Technion \u2013 Israel Institute of Technology developed a theoretical model that will expediate the development of affordable fuel cells, a key technology for sustainable energy. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":147,"featured_media":169881,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1866,88,2076],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2277],"class_list":["post-169878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-engr","category-global-affairs","category-research"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-05 15:42:10","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/147"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169878"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":169883,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169878\/revisions\/169883"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/169881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169878"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=169878"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=169878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}