Ammonia-Resistant Pt-Based HOR Catalyst with Fe/Y Co-Regulation for High-Efficiency Hydrogen Purification Enabled by Machine Learning
Trace ammonia in hydrogen derived from ammonia cracking poisons proton exchange membrane fuel cell anodes, degrading performance and durability. Conventional separation technologies such as pressure swing adsorption suffer from high equipment costs, large system volume, and low durability. This study employs machine learning coupled with Shapley Additive Explanations to identify Fe and Y as dual transition-metal modulators that enhance ammonia tolerance in Pt-based hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) catalysts. Fe facilitates PtY alloy formation, suppressing stable Y oxide phases and modulating Pt electronic properties. The resulting FeY-Pt-C (20% Pt) catalyst achieves a mass activity of 1071 mA mg_Pt^-1, 2.23-fold higher than Pt-C (20% Pt). Under 5000 ppm NH3, FeY-Pt-C retains 93.1% of its initial electrocatalytic activity, demonstrating exceptional ammonia poisoning resistance. This dual-metal regulation strategy offers a viable route for electrochemical hydrogen pumps to purify hydrogen from ammonia cracking, addressing a critical bottleneck in ammonia-mediated hydrogen transport.