Novel carbon nanostructure boosts platinum catalyst efficiency for data-center fuel cells

Scientists from Washington University in St. Louis, together with collaborators from Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Northeastern University and the University of Pittsburgh, have unveiled a new carbon nanostructure that dramatically improves low-temperature fuel-cell catalysts. The material consists of porous, hollow spheres with orderly radial channels, allowing dense yet evenly distributed platinum-cobalt intermetallic nanoparticles to form an ordered atomic structure at temperatures up to 1000 °C without agglomeration.

In laboratory trials the catalyst maintained 85 % of its initial output after 150,000 severe voltage cycles, equivalent to about 25,000 operating hours. The open-channel architecture also facilitates uniform ion transport, enhancing proton, oxygen and water movement within the electrode. Researchers argue that such durable, low-platinum catalysts could enable data centers to generate electricity directly from hydrogen, easing pressure on the national grid. Wu has filed a patent for the technology, which was reported in Nature Nanotechnology on Aug. 6, 2026.