scholarly journals N- and S-doped mesoporous carbon as metal-free cathode catalysts for direct biorenewable alcohol fuel cells

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Qiu ◽  
Jiajie Huo ◽  
Fan Jia ◽  
Brent. H. Shanks ◽  
Wenzhen Li
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Surface Area ◽  
Mesoporous Carbon ◽  
Carbon Materials ◽  
Half Cell ◽  
Cathode Catalysts ◽  
Metal Free ◽  
Alcohol Fuel ◽  
Orr Activity

N and S dual-doped carbon materials, N-S-CMK-3, are fabricated with >1000 m2 g−1 surface area and uniform mesoporous and macroporous structures, and exhibit outstanding ORR activity and durability in both half cell and direct biorenewable alcohol fuel cell tests.

Polyelectrolyte–single wall carbon nanotube composite as an effective cathode catalyst for air-cathode microbial fuel cells

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (10) ◽  
pp. 1610-1616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huanan Wu ◽  
Min Lu ◽  
Lin Guo ◽  
Leonard Guan Hong Bay ◽  
Zheng Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Carbon Nanotube ◽  
Oxygen Reduction ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Reduction Process ◽  
Air Cathode ◽  
Single Wall Carbon Nanotube ◽  
Single Wall Carbon ◽  
Cathode Catalysts ◽  
Metal Free

Polyelectrolyte–single wall carbon nanotube (SCNT) composites are prepared by a solution-based method and used as metal-free cathode catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in air-cathode microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In this study, two types of polyelectrolytes, polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDDA) and poly[bis(2-chloroethyl)ether-alt-1,3-bis[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]urea] (PEPU) are applied to decorate the SCNTs and the resulting catalysts exhibit remarkable catalytic ability toward ORR in MFC applications. The enhanced catalytic ability could be attributed to the positively charged quaternary ammonium sites of polyelectrolytes, which increase the oxygen affinity of SCNTs and reduce activation energy in the oxygen reduction process. It is also found that PEPU–SCNT composite-based MFCs show efficient performance with maximum power density of 270.1 mW m−2, comparable to MFCs with the benchmark Pt/C catalyst (375.3 mW m−2), while PDDA–SCNT composite-based MFCs produce 188.9 mW m−2. These results indicate that PEPU–SCNT and PDDA–SCNT catalysts are promising candidates as metal-free cathode catalysts for ORR in MFCs and could facilitate MFC scaling up and commercialization.

Review of New Carbon Materials as Catalyst Supports in Direct Alcohol Fuel Cells

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuihua TANG ◽  
Gongquan SUN ◽  
Jing QI ◽  
Shiguo SUN ◽  
Junsong GUO ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Carbon Materials ◽  
Catalyst Supports ◽  
Direct Alcohol Fuel Cells ◽  
Alcohol Fuel ◽  
New Carbon Materials

scholarly journals Highly Mesoporous Carbon Aerogel as Catalyst Support in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Gu ◽  
Eric J. Kim ◽  
Sunil K. Sharma ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Activated Carbon ◽  
Specific Surface ◽  
Surface Area ◽  
Mesoporous Carbon ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Catalyst Support ◽  
Carbon Aerogel ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Exchange Membrane

<p>Carbon aerogel possesses unique structural and electrical properties, such as high mesopore volume, specific surface area, and electrical conductivity, which make it suitable for use as a catalyst support in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC). In this study, we present a novel synthesis of highly mesoporous carbon aerogel via ambient-drying and investigate its application in PEMFCs. The structural effects of activation on carbon aerogel were also studied. The TEM, XRF, Non Localized Density Function Theory (NLDFT) and BJH analysis were carried out to observe the morphology and pore structure. Pt on carbon aerogel and activated carbon aerogel show efficient activity in both oxygen reduction and hydrogen oxidation reactions compared to Pt on Vulcan XC-72, with increases up to 715% and 195% in specific power density, respectively. The enhanced performance of carbon aerogel is attributed to its large specific surface area and high mesopore to micropore ratio. Accelerated stress tests show that carbon aerogel has comparable durability with Vulcan XC-72, while activated carbon aerogel is less durable than both materials. Thus, the mesoporous carbon aerogel provides an efficient, lower-cost alternative to existing microporous carbon material as a catalyst support in PEMFCs.</p><p></p>

Application of Carbon Nanotube/Polymer Composites as Electrode for Polyelectrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

2005 ◽  
Vol 885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten Prehn ◽  
Suzana Pereira Nunes ◽  
Karl Schulte
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Surface Area ◽  
Direct Methanol Fuel Cells ◽  
Electron Conductivity ◽  
Asymmetric Structure ◽  
Membrane Electrode ◽  
Nano Structure ◽  
Casting Technique ◽  
Polyelectrolyte Membrane

ABSTRACTCarbon nanotubes (CNTs) possess remarkable mechanical and physical characteristics due to their unique structure. The high electrical conductivity of CNTs in combination with their structural and chemical properties make this material attractive for improvement of the performance of the electrodes in electrochemical devices, such as polyelectrolyte-membrane fuel cells. The requirements in particular for this application are manifold. Since the electrode is the reaction layer in a fuel cell, the electrolyte, being proton conductive, has to be combined with catalytic activity and electron conductivity, as well as chemical stability against the reactants. Employed as an electrode, CNTs offer feasibilities to enhance the efficiency of fuel cells due to an improved contact between electrolyte-membrane, electrode and catalyst. An other promising capacity is the large specific surface area of CNTs on which catalyst particles can be distributed in small clusters. This provides an increase of the catalyst efficiency on account of a higher reactive surface area which enables a reduction of the amount of catalyst required. In combination with a good electron conductivity, a CNT based electrode is a potential alternative fuel cell electrode. The presented work focuses on a membrane assembly, consisting of CNTs as electrode and sulfonated polyether ether ketone (SPEEK), which is used as polyelectrolyte in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) and provides good proton conductivity. Nanocomposites were produced by a modified drop casting technique, leading to the formation of an asymmetric structure. Due to the process, the compounded membranes provided a single-sided electron conductivity on account of the CNTs. By using different 3D-structured CNT-carpets, varying in thickness, density and setup, the properties of the electrode membrane could be adjusted for its special application. In consideration of the insertion of platinum and ruthenium particles as catalyst in nano-sized clusters on the CNTs, carpets were modified and grown in a CVD-process at the TUHH. The evaluation of the assemblies comprised SEM-pictures in order to analyse the 3D-nano-structure, measurements of the surface conductivity as well as tests in a fuel cell.

Direct Alcohol Fuel Cell for Automotive Applications and Vehicle Modeling

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. O. Branda˜o ◽  
S. C. A. Almeida
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Control System ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Cell System ◽  
Automotive Applications ◽  
Fuel Cell System ◽  
Super Capacitor ◽  
Vehicle Modeling ◽  
Direct Alcohol Fuel Cell ◽  
Alcohol Fuel

This paper describes the study made by COPPE/UFRJ which goal is the development of fuel cells systems for automotive applications. The study is divided in two parts. The first is the development of a PEM direct fuel cell. In addition a method for experimentally determine the possibility of using a fuel in a fuel cell is developed. The components of catalysts are also tested such as Tin and Ruthenium in a Platinum coated electrode. The second part is the control system for a fuel cell powered vehicle. The vehicle power is modeled from its actions and losses. A power of 80kW seems to be a great choice if made of 50kW from the fuel cell system and 30kW from an accumulator such as a pack of batteries or a super capacitor.

scholarly journals Fluorine-enriched mesoporous carbon as efficient oxygen reduction catalyst: understanding the defects in porous matrix and fuel cell applications

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (12) ◽  
pp. 4926-4937 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Parthiban ◽  
Balasubramaniam Bhuvaneshwari ◽  
J. Karthikeyan ◽  
P. Murugan ◽  
A. K. Sahu
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Oxygen Reduction ◽  
Mesoporous Carbon ◽  
Porous Matrix ◽  
Metal Free ◽  
Oxygen Reduction Catalyst

Synthesis of fluorine-doped mesoporous carbon as a novel alternative metal-free ORR electrocatalyst.

Expanded 3D Electrode Architecture for Low Temperature Direct Liquid Fuel Cells

2009 ◽  
Vol 1168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Craig Urian
Keyword(s):  
Hydrogen Peroxide ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Energy Density ◽  
Surface Area ◽  
Cell Polarization ◽  
Membrane Electrode ◽  
Carbon Cloth ◽  
Half Cell ◽  
Electrode Assemblies ◽  
Carbon Microfibers

AbstractThe US Navy continues to pursue electrochemical power sources with high energy density for low rate, long endurance undersea applications. The direct electro-oxidation and electro-reduction of sodium borohydride and hydrogen peroxide are being investigated to meet these goals. In an effort to minimize polarization losses and increase power density, a novel carbon microfiber array (CMA) electrode is being investigated.The CMA is composed of 750 micron long, 10 micron diameter graphite fibers that protrude from a current collector like blades of grass. The CMA was developed for the direct reaction of peroxide in the Mg-H2O2 semi fuel cell. [1] There, the high surface area of the microfiber cathode reduces peroxide concentration polarization, resulting in increased power and energy density. For this work the CMA architecture was adapted into a novel membrane electrode assembly and evaluated in the direct BH4- / H2O2 fuel cell. The unique feature of this architecture vs. traditional membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) is how all three components of the triple boundary interface are optimized: electrical connectivity, ionic connectivity and mass transport. The current iteration of this electrode architecture utilizes a carbon cloth that has been hot pressed into N115 membrane. This component is then placed over the CMFA electrode. The carbon microfibers of the CMFA protrude up into the carbon cloth matrix forming a 3-dimewnsional, interdigitated electrode architecture. The result of this modification is improved electrolyte flow through the CMFA and improved utilization of the surface area afforded by the carbon microfibers that was not observed in the non modified CMFA. Half cell polarization measurements were obtained simultaneously with the fuel cell polarization. Initial results using this modified CMFA electrode architecture show that the polarization losses observed for both the reduction of hydrogen peroxide and for the oxidation of borohydride were 5.2 times lower than for the non-modified CMAs electrode (0.014 ohms vs. 0.074 ohms). Comparing these results to those calculated from the literature [2, 3], where traditional membrane electrode assemblies were used for borohydride oxidation, 5 and 2.6 time improvements were obtained (0.07 ohms and 0.037 ohms were the effective resistive losses seen in the anode half cell polarizations).

scholarly journals Insights on the extraordinary tolerance to alcohols of Fe-N-C cathode catalysts in highly performing direct alcohol fuel cells

Nano Energy ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 195-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Sebastián ◽  
A. Serov ◽  
I. Matanovic ◽  
K. Artyushkova ◽  
P. Atanassov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Direct Alcohol Fuel Cells ◽  
Cathode Catalysts ◽  
Alcohol Fuel
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