Fuel cells technology rely on electrochemical processes that need to provide satisfactory energy density in order to be used in applications for transportation; however, a major challenge lies in the insufficient activity and durability of materials that are currently employed as cathode catalysts for electrochemical reduction of oxygen. These limitations inevitably lead to a lower operating efficiency of the devices, which highlights the need for development of more active and durable oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts. Consequently, the majority of research efforts are placed on the catalyst design and synthesis aiming to improve their efficiency. It has been found that properties such as surface structure, surface and subsurface composition are determining electronic properties and have distinguished roles in defining the functional properties of electrocatalysts ¹. The material-by-design-approach, would be used here as an example to emphasize the transfer of the knowledge obtained from the well-defined systems towards tailor-made real-world catalysts ². Considering current state-of-the-art in fuel cells, most of the research is centered on platinum, which is the best monometallic catalyst for the ORR. Special emphasis will be placed on utilization of multimetallic systems that could provide additional benefits by bringing together highly diverse constituents to alter and tune both catalytic activity and durability ³.

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