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Fuel cells and water electrolysis: Tantalum-based catalysts break through the durability bottleneck

In the field of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) and water electrolysis hydrogen production (PEM-WE), tantalum oxide (Ta₂O₅)-loaded composite catalyst carriers and tantalum-stabilized ruthenium oxide (Ta-RuO₂) electrocatalysts have shown disruptive value:

• Fuel cells: Tantalum oxide inhibits the corrosion and degradation of platinum-carbon catalysts by scavenging active oxygen free radicals (∙OH), improving stability by more than 30%. Through atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology, tantalum oxide is evenly dispersed on the surface of carbon nanotubes to form an integrated structure of "electron transport-catalytic reaction-corrosion resistance", which is suitable for high power density fuel cell systems and has been verified in electric vehicles and fixed power stations.

• Hydrogen production by water electrolysis: Ta-RuO₂ electrocatalyst inhibits the structure-dependent corrosion of RuO₂, with a performance decay rate of only 14 μV/h in a 2800-hour test, and an overpotential 330 mV lower than that of IrO₂, significantly improving the electrolysis efficiency (>85%) and current density (>4000 A/m²). It preferentially occupies the coordination unsaturated sites (CUS) on the surface of RuO₂, stabilizes intermediates and reduces the OER reaction energy barrier, and has shown the potential to replace scarce iridium-based catalysts in industrial demonstration projects.

Application scenarios: This technology promotes cost reduction and efficiency improvement in the hydrogen energy industry chain. Tantalum-based coated titanium electrodes are used in alkaline electrolyzers, and tantalum alloy pipelines ensure the anti-hydrogen embrittlement performance of high-pressure (>35MPa) hydrogen pipelines, helping megawatt-level solar hydrogen production systems to directly supply hydrogen to hydrogen refueling stations.