Green catalysis for selective CO oxidation in hydrogen for fuel cell

Preferential oxidation of carbon monoxide in excess hydrogen (PROX) is one of the key processes for the production of clean hydrogen fuel for the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEFC). Development of highly active and selective catalysts is among the most challenging works for decades. Platinum-based catalysts are regarded as the most promising candidates for this process. However, the activities of Pt catalysts seriously suffer from the strong poisonous adsorption by CO substrate at low reaction temperature. This article addresses the present approaches to improve catalytic performance at low temperature. The focus of this article is a new reaction route of CO oxidation over Pt/mesoporous silica under PROX reaction conditions. The high activity and selectivity of this catalyst has been attributed to the surface silanols in mesoporous silica. The perspectives of Pt/mesoporous silica in the PROX reaction are also presented.