(Yicai Global) Feb. 1 -- A team of scientific researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China recently developed a new catalyst that solves the thorny problem of carbon monoxide contamination in hydrogen fuel cells.

The new technology thus greatly extends battery life, authoritative global scientific journal Nature reported yesterday.

The new iron-hydroxide catalyst the team developed can completely (100 percent) and efficiently remove traces of carbon monoxide present in hydrogen fuels from minus 75 degrees Celsius to 107 degrees Celsius to protect these batteries in cold start situations and those in continuous operation to avert carbon monoxide tainting, state-owned news outlet Xinhua reported.

Carbon monoxide contamination occurs when platinum electrodes in the cells become polluted by carbon monoxide gas impurities present in the hydrogen fuel. This not only saps these batteries' performance but also shortens their life expectancy, thus greatly hindering the advancement of fuel cell vehicles.

The researchers' ultimate purpose is to develop a low-cost catalyst that can not only apply in vehicles, but also provide all-time protection for fuel cells, and also find use in preparing high-purity hydrogen for factories, team leader Prof. Lu Junling explained.

The University of Science and Technology of China, based in Hefei, capital of eastern Anhui province, is a national research institution directly under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Editor: Ben Armour