Frontiers and recent developments in nanomaterials for fuel cell applications: An overview of performances and perspectives

In actual nanotechnology field, the development of new materials with tailored structures, from molecular to the nanometric scale, is very fast and many improvements have been made. In the last decades a remarkable progress in fuel cells performance has been due to the use of advanced nanocomposites. In this work, an overview of the transversal role of nanomaterials and actual trends in research, with updated performances, are analysed and compared to show potentials and barriers of these materials. The principal result is that electrochemical activity, transport properties and durability are enhanced in components with nanomaterials. This aspect is of fundamental importance for fuel cell technologies to compete with traditional energy systems.