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Question:

What is the purpose of a catalyst in hydrogen fuel cells?

Also, what makes platinum the best catalyst for fuel cells? What might be wrong with stainless steel or iron?

Answer:

Previous answer is not true.Purpose of catalyst is not to 'permit' reaction to take place. A reaction will take place even without the catalyst The purpose of a catalyst is to lower the energy required to get the reaction going. Why certain reagents work better than others in different reactions is not a straightforward answer and is very much a matter of trial and error when it comes to lab work.
The purpose of the catalyst is to PERMIT the required reaction to take place. It does NOT take part in the reaction.

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