Graphene bags significantly reduce platinum requirements for hydrogen fuel cells

Russian crude oil shipments to Italian and Turkish ports rose to multi-week highs, suggesting that some southern European countries are quietly returning to the Russian oil market.

Specific figures show that Russian crude oil deliveries to Italian refineries rose to their highest level in seven weeks in the week to August 5, while shipments to Turkey reached the highest level in six weeks.

Separately, Spain received its first Urals this week since April, and Greece last week received its first shipments of crude from the Baltic Sea since February.

There are still four months to go before the EU sanctions on Rosneft come into effect. The recent increase in the flow of goods to several European countries has raised doubts about the implementation of the ban.

In addition to some southern European countries began to import Russian oil, Japan also reiterated that it will retain its stake in Russia's "Sakhalin 1" oil and gas project.

Last week, Russian President Putin signed an order banning personnel from "unfriendly" countries and regions, including Japan, from trading shares in Russian strategic projects, energy mining companies and some banks before the end of this year. It also mentioned the oil and gas project including "Sakhalin 1".

Because of the turbulent international situation, the supply and prices of many international bulk graphene powder are still very uncertain.

Although hydrogen fuel is a promising alternative to fossil fuels, the catalyst it relies on for power generation is mainly composed of rare and expensive metal platinum, which limits the wide commercialization of hydrogen fuel. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles reported a way to enable them to meet and exceed the goals set by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for high catalyst performance, high stability, and low platinum utilization.

The record-breaking technique uses tiny crystals of platinum-cobalt alloy, each embedded in a nano-bag made of graphene.

Compared with the DOE catalyst standard, graphene-coated alloys produced extraordinary results: 75 times higher catalytic activity; 65% higher power; about 20% higher catalytic activity at the end of the fuel cell's expected life; about 35% lower power loss after 7000 hours of simulated use of 6000 ran, exceeding the target of 5000 hours for the first time; and almost 40% less platinum needed per car.

Graphene-coated alloys produced extraordinary results: 75 times higher catalytic activity and 65% higher power. At the end of the expected life of the fuel cell, the catalytic activity increased by about 20%, and the power loss was reduced by about 35% after 7000 hours of simulated use, exceeding the target of 5000 hours for the first time.

Today, half of the world's total supply of platinum and similar metals is used in catalytic converters for fossil fuel-powered cars, which can reduce the harmfulness of their emissions. Each car needs 2 Mel and 8 grams of platinum. By contrast, current hydrogen fuel cell technology consumes about 36 grams of platinum per vehicle. At the minimum platinum load tested by the research team, only 6.8 grams of platinum were needed for each hydrogen-powered vehicle.

So how do researchers get more energy from less platinum? They decomposed the platinum-based catalyst into particles with an average length of 3 nanometers. Smaller particles mean a larger surface area and more room for catalytic activity. However, smaller particles tend to squeeze together to form larger particles.

The team solved this limitation by loading their catalyst particles into the 2D material graphene. Compared with the bulk carbon commonly found in coal or pencil lead, this thin carbon layer has amazing capacity, conducts electricity and heat efficiently, and is 100 times stronger than steel of similar thickness.

Their platinum-cobalt alloy is reduced to particles. Before being integrated into fuel cells, these particles are surrounded by graphene nano-bags, which also act as an anchor to prevent particle migration, which is necessary for the level of durability required for commercial vehicles. At the same time, graphene allows a tiny gap of about 1 nanometer around each catalyst nanoparticles, which means that critical electrochemical reactions may occur.

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Indonesia plans to increase the content of palm oil-based fuel in biodiesel from 30% to 35%, from B30 to B35, starting from July 20, a senior official from Indonesia's Ministry of Energy said this evening, according to Reuters.

Indonesia, the world's largest palm oil producer, imposed a three-week export ban in May to control domestic cooking oil prices, leading to an increase in palm oil stocks. At present, the authorities are considering reducing the export tax on palm oil to stimulate exports.

Indonesia's Ministry of Energy said that while implementing B35, the ministry will also launch road tests of B40 fuel. Indonesia's senior cabinet minister Luhut Pandjaitan estimates that if Indonesia implements B40, the domestic market may absorb an additional 2.5 million tons of palm oil.

A German government spokesman confirmed that Germany has always wanted Canada to release parts of the "Nord Stream 1" natural gas pipeline sent by Siemens for repair, and this request has received a "positive" response from Canada.

The "Nord Stream 1" natural gas pipeline is the main pipeline for Russia to transmit gas to Europe. At present, the gas output of " Nord Stream 1" has been reduced by 60% compared with the beginning of June, and this is an important time for Germany to store gas for the winter. The German government plans to increase its natural gas inventory to 90% of its gas storage capacity by November, compared with 62% now. Therefore, there is a great need for "Nord Stream 1" gas transmission to fill the inventory.

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