Fuel cells: State-of-the-art and major scientific and engineering problems

Basic results of research and engineering-technical work on fuel cells (mostly membrane and methanol systems), obtained mainly in the last decade, are reviewed, with attention focused on the electrocatalytic aspect. Many works on the engineering, construction, and production of fuel cells and on the mass transfer remain outside this review, as do intrinsically theoretical works on electrocatalysis. Questions of technical and economic adaptation of these to various applications are discussed.