ABSTRACT
Conducting oxides are emerging candidates as oxidation resis-tant catalyst supports. These materials are thermally and electro-chemically stable in fuel cell environment and present excellent resistance to corrosion in various electrolytic media. In addition to their high stability in the fuel cell environment, unlike carbon, which does not enhance electrocatalytic activities but serves only as a mechanical support, many metal oxide supports can act as co-catalysts. Given their structural characteristics, conducting polymers (CPs) have been proposed as supports for low-temperature fuel cell catalysts. Generally, conducting polymers fulfill the main requirements of a suitable fuel cell catalyst support: They possess high surface area, to obtain high metal dispersion, suitable porosity, to boost gas flow, high electrical conductivity, and high stability under fuel cell operational conditions.In this chapter, an overview of carbon, ceramic, and polymer materials, proposed as low-temperature fuel cell catalyst supports, is presented. The improved characteristics of the supports and their effect on the electrochemical activity are highlighted.
