Ruthenium is increasingly being used to tackle a variety of problems faced by fuel cell developers, Brookhaven National Laboratory reports.

Among the various efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of fuel cells, Brookhaven chemist James Muckerman is working on the development of catalysts for producing hydrogen that are inspired by the natural process of photosynthesis.

Ruthenium centres with quinone ligands attached have been used to create catalysts that have a much longer life and are both active and stable. It is thought that the development could be used to take catalyst development in a new direction.

Meanwhile, a research team led by Brookhaven chemist Ping Liu has found that ruthenium-oxide could be used in some fuel cell catalysts as a replacement for the more expensive platinum.

It is hoped that this approach will help to reduce the cost of catalysts and therefore make fuel cells more affordable.

By placing a thin layer of platinum on a ruthenium-oxide surface, the researchers have found that the oxidation-reduction reaction occurs almost as quickly as with a pure platinum catalyst. – Platinum Today