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Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

October 23, 2012

Title: Development of High Efficiency, Low Cost Electrocatalysts for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Applications

Speaker: Christopher Odetola, Materials Science PhD candidate

Abstract: Hydrogen is a clean and renewable energy carrier. The success of hydrogen economics relies on the competition between hydrogen energy and fossil fuels. The costs of H2 PEM fuel cells play an important role in hydrogen economics. About 40 per cent of a PEM fuel cell’s cost is in the Pt used in the anodic electrodes. There are currently two major approaches to reducing the cost of fuel cell electrodes: (1) Development of non-Pt based electrodes and (2) Synthesis of very low Pt loaded electrodes. Many attempts have made in these two fields and much progress has resulted. Pulse electrodeposition of Pt particles is one of the intensively investigated technologies for synthesis of low Pt loaded electrodes. Some successes have been achieved using this technology. However, Pt particle aggregation has been found to be detrimental to the improvement of the Pt catalysts.

An innovative technology to modify the pulse electrodeposition method for the preparation low Pt loading but higher performance Pt electrodes for use in hydrogen proton exchange membrane fuel cells has been investigated. Significant electrode performance improvement has been achieved while using less than 0.1 mg/cm2 Pt loading. The measured performance of these electrodes is comparable to that of 0.5 mg/cm2 loaded Pt/C commercial electrodes.