Search Results for: platinum

For years, hydrogen fuel has been viewed through two prisms including the ability to give us a potential solution for long-term ethical energy, and the mass challenges that we face in turning hydrogen into an affordable form of fuel in the long-term. Along these lines, there has been a push for a development of non-platinum • Read More »

According to an article in Reuters, Platinum companies have been investing heavily in fuel cells for the past few years hoping that hydrogen fuel cell cars will take off, increasing demand for the rare metal. The companies are worried that gasoline and diesel hybrids and battery electric cars may thwart the demand for fuel cell • Read More »

Researchers at Rice University have discovered that graphene quantum dots (GQDs) serve as better catalysts in fuel cells than does platinum. And the quantum nanodots are made from (cover your eyes fossil fuel rejectionists) coal. According to Rice, “The Rice lab of chemist James Tour created dots known as GQDs from coal last year and • Read More »

In two separate stories today, platinum is either being drastically reduced or eliminated altogether in hydrogen fuel cells. In the first case, the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) has reduced the amount of platinum used in a fuel cell by five times in a recent experiment. According to PSI, “An international team of researchers involving the • Read More »

Yesterday I had talked about nitrogen doped carbon nanotubes for fuel cells which is a platinum-free invention created by the researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Today I would like to talk about how researchers in Korea, at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), invented edge-halogenated graphene nanoplatelets for use in • Read More »

We all know that platinum is expensive. When I just checked the spot prices for today both platinum and gold are just under $1,700 per ounce. Now, even though platinum is expensive we still use it in our modern cars inside of the catalytic converters to fight pollution. With a battery electric car or fuel • Read More »

Yesterday I was talking about how a venture capitalist was betting on iron and cobalt to replace platinum in fuel cells. Well, today, there is a new wager on the table. Scientists are Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island are laying their cards on the table, saying cobalt and graphene are a better choice to • Read More »

Researchers at Stanford University in Northern California have developed what they are calling “unzipped carbon nanotubes” to replace catalytic platinum in fuel cells. Today’s price of platinum is between $1400 and $1500 per ounce. Carbon nanotubes and graphene, on the other hand, are relatively cheap to produce. This low price could lead to wide spread • Read More »

Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) have developed a platinum free fuel cell that uses carbon, iron and cobalt on the cathode end of the PEM hydrogen fuel cell. With platinum currently priced at $1,800 per ounce this element is one of the major costs when producing fuel cells. According to LANL, “The Los • Read More »