Platinum is widely used as a catalyst for oxygen reduction reactions in fuel cells, but its high cost is a major obstacle to making fuel cell vehicles more affordable and more popular. Graphene, however, may be just what automotive and energy companies are looking for.
Researchers from Rice University attached graphene quantum dots to a graphene base, resulting in a hybrid material that operates as an excellent– and cheap–catalyst for fuel cell reactions.
Quantum dots are nanocrystals that exhibit quantum mechanical properties, making them very useful in experimental transistors, solar cells, imaging chips, and other things. James Tour, a Rice chemistry professor, and his colleagues created graphene quantum dots (GQDs) from coal last year, and followed up on that breakthrough with this latest experiment.
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