system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How do electrons get separated from the Hydrogen atom in a Fuel Cell?

I know theres a platinum plate that the hydrogen hits, and a membrane that only the hydrogen ions can pass through, but I don't understand how the electrons separate.

All research only states they "get separated" but fails to explain why it separates.
gpt
You can't just look at the hydrogen side, you also have to look at the other half-cell where oxygen, the protons diffusing through the membrane and the electrons flowing through the closed circuit recombine to water. That recombination is what drives the reaction, energetically. Just like H2 and O2 readily burn to form water. A fuel cell does just the same, it only separates the reactions and generates electricity instead of just heat.