Researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory used new microscopy methods to probe more closely into how fuel cell materials work.

The researchers used electrochemical strain microscopy to provide more informative images of ions' movement in the fuel cell. Studying the process of how fuel cell works may lead to the redesigning of the technology and cut the cost of the energy devices.

Fuel cells are viewed as an efficient way to convert chemical energy into electricity. However, commercial production is limited because of the high cost of fuel cells mostly due to the price of platinum, which serves as the catalyst in fuel cell batteries.

"Yet exactly how and where the reaction takes place had not been probed because existing device-level electrochemical techniques are ill suited to study the reaction at the nanoscale," the lab said.

Sergei Kalinin, study co-author, said previous research has not been as successful due to limited resolutions of electrochemical methods.

"If we can find a way to understand the operation of the fuel cell on the basic elementary level and determine what will make it work in the most optimum fashion, it would create an entirely new window of opportunity for the development of better materials and devices," lead researcher Amit Kumar said.

According to the researchers, the method is an important technique that will bridge the theoretical and application of fuel cells.

The research was conducted at the laboratory's Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is one of the Nanoscale Science Research Centers of the Department of Energy.(K.D. Mariano)
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