Single atom based electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell: Recent advances, challenges and future perspectives

Abstract Renewable energy is highly fascinating due to the essential power demand, continuous increase in oil costs and environmental concerns. Among the various renewable energy sources, the fuel cell is more appealing because of the higher efficiency and cost-effective power source. The critical problem in the wide-range commercial application of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell is the use of platinum dependent electrocatalyst, which is mandatory for the oxygen reduction reaction. The improvement of catalytic activity, stability and low cost are the key issues to be resolved in this developing research area. So, the current review is focused on the advancement in single atom-based electrocatalyst and emphasized the various kinds of single-atom catalysts with improved catalytic performance. Future perspectives and direction are also proposed in this review for the improvement in the design strategy and development of highly efficient electrocatalyst for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells.