Corrosion Mechanism and Mitigation Strategies for Carbon Supports in PEMFCs

Abstract Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) demonstrate exceptional efficiency in converting hydrogen into electricity and hold great promise for mitigating carbon emissions. However, the high loading of platinum (Pt) (0.2–0.35 mg Pt cm −2 ) in the cathode catalytic layer (CL) poses a significant obstacle to the commercialization of PEMFCs. Although current research has succeeded in reducing Pt usage in the cathode CL, carbon corrosion remains a major issue that leads to decreased output power density and shortened service life. The enhancement of support stability poses a greater challenge compared to the improvement of intrinsic stability in Pt‐based alloys, primarily due to the thermodynamic instability of carbon during practical operating conditions. Recently, extensive efforts are dedicated to exploiting advanced carbon supports through the utilization of innovative nanostructure design and synthesis techniques, as well as profound mechanistic insights. This review highlights the intriguing advancements in the modification and synthesis of carbon materials, while also summarizing the underlying mechanisms and potential factors that impact the corrosion reaction of carbon. The general ideas and strategies for the development of carbon materials with desirable nanostructures and physicochemical properties are outlined in detail to design low‐Pt CL with highly efficient mass transfer and superior stability.