Argonne National Laboratory will receive $3 million over three
years for basic science studies that may lead to improved
catalysts for hydrogen fuel cells. The funding, from the U.S.
Department of Energy's Office of Basic Energy Sciences, will be
used to study the molecular basis of catalysis, with a
particular interest in the oxygen reduction reaction in fuel
cells. “We are looking to understand the behavior of oxygen in
the low-temperature fuel cell cathodes,” said Hoydoo You, leader
of the group project. “The project builds on Argonne's
scientific strengths, bringing collaboration between physicists
and chemists, between theorists and experimentalists.” The high-
intensity X-rays from the Advanced Photon Source and nanoscale
science at the Center for Nanoscale Materials are key enabling
resources. The project includes researchers from Argonne's
Materials Science, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering divisions
as well as researchers from Kent State University and the
University of Minnesota. The fundamental re