非贵金属阴极无膜直接甲酸燃料电池性能特性

Performance properties of A Membrane-free Direct Formate Fuel Cell With a Non-Precious Metal Cathode

本文以Vulcan XC72碳黑为前驱体制备了具有高氧还原催化活性的非贵金属催化剂,并构建了一种结构简单的管式阴极。研究发现基于此种管式阴极的直接甲酸燃料电池(DFFC)可省去昂贵的质子交换膜,且具有电池结构简单和电池成本低的优势。本文还研究了电池运行条件,如阳极液流速、燃料浓度及支持电解质浓度等对DFFC整体性能的影响。结果表明,当流速为0.7 mL·min^-1且阳极液为1.00 mol/L HCOONa+4.0 mol/L KOH溶液时,电池有最大功率密度1.91 mW·cm^-3,比基于商业铂碳阴极的DFFC高出了5%。

In this paper, a non-precious metal catalyst with high oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)activity supported on Vulcan XC72 carbon black was synthesized. Based on the catalyst, we fabricated a tubular cathode for a membrane-free direct formate fuel cell(DFFC). The results show that the DFFC eliminated the expensive proton exchange membranes and simplified the preparation process and thus reduced the fabrication costs. This study also investigated the effect of operating conditions,such as the anolyte flow rate, the fuel concentration, and the supporting electrolyte concentration on the performance of the DFFC. The results show that when the flow rate was 0.7 mL·min^-1 and the anolyte was 1.0 mol/L HCOONa+4.0 mol/L KOH, the DFFC showed a maximum power density of1.91 mW·cm^-3, which is 5% higher than the same DFFC based on the cathode with the commercial platinum catalyst.