Platinum Metals Review - Volume 22, Issue 2, 1978

Improvements in the preparation and utilisation of platinum metal catalysts have now made megawatt scale fuel cell systems economically viable. The high thermal efficiency and low pollution characteristics of this novel power source are likely to result in it forming an increasing proportion of the generating capacity utilised for both peaking and intermediate applications. This paper briefly reviews the development of fuel cells; it also describes how they work, including the function of the catalyst, and indicates the more important of the many factors which have to be considered when selecting a commercial system.

In recent years metal cluster compounds with large numbers of metal atoms in the molecule have been prepared and characterised. The intermediate role of such clusters between monometal co-ordination compounds and metal surfaces is apparent, and is of great importance in studies of surface reactions for use in catalytic and other industrial processes. Investigation of the modification of the behaviour of carbon monoxide and simple organic ligands on co-ordination to such “metal fragments” is consequently one of the most rapidly expanding areas of chemical research.