A team led by researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has developed nanostructures made from a compound of three metals that increases the efficiency and durability of fuel cells while lowering the cost to produce them. Their solution addresses vexing problems that have stalled the adoption of this technology.

Yu Huang, a UCLA associate professor of materials science and engineering, was the principal investigator of the research, which was published in the June 12 issue of Science.

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells have shown great promise as a clean energy technology with numerous applications including zero-emission vehicles. The fuel cells work by causing hydrogen fuel and oxygen from the air to react to produce electricity, and the exhaust they create is water—rather than the pollutants and greenhouse gases emitted by traditional car engines.

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