Application of Modified Graphene for Cathode Catalysts in Fuel Cells

Graphene, as a novel material, is recognized as a type of potential and attractive materials for the preparation of high performance fuel cell catalysts due to its unique structure and properties, such as ultra thin layer structure, ultra high surface area, and excellent conductivity, etc. Recent investigation showed that doped or surface modified graphene can be a potential candidate for the fuel cell catalyst by choosing different preparation process and varying the precursors. In this paper, we reviewed the research works in recent years for the application of doped and modified graphene as the cathode catalysts for fuel cells, including the direct use of doped graphene as catalyst for oxygen cathodic reduction, and the use of doped or surface modified graphene as support for the preparation of high performance cathode catalyst. Although the exact active center on these doped graphene for oxygen reduction reaction is still under debate, the succeed catalysis in both alkaline and acid solution opened up a brand new approach for the development of non-precious catalysts in fuel cells. With the improvement of catalytic performance and further understanding of structure-activity relation, we prospected that the application of doped-graphene in fuel cells will be broadened.