直接尿素燃料电池研究进展

Research progress of direct urea fuel cells

直接尿素燃料电池可同时处理含尿素废水(尿液等)并发电,且Ni基材料为阳极尿素电氧化反应的有效催化剂。然而由于尿素电氧化反应复杂且缓慢的动力学使得Ni基催化剂活性低且稳定性差,导致直接尿素燃料电池功率密度普遍较低。实现其应用的关键在于对Ni基催化剂进行改性以构建高效稳定的催化剂层及其膜电极组件。因此,详细评述了组装成直接尿素燃料电池的阳极催化剂研究进展,深入分析改性后的催化剂组成结构对系统性能的影响机制(包括载体效应和协同效应),旨在为设计高效稳定的尿素电氧化催化剂提供科学依据。此外,阐述了直接尿素燃料电池系统中膜材料的研究现状及其膜电极组件的构建。最后,总结并展望了该领域的研究重点及未来研究的发展方向,为开发高性能直接尿素燃料电池以推进其商业化进程提供借鉴。

Direct urea fuel cells(DUFCs)can simultaneously treat urea-containing wastewater(urine,etc.)and generate electricity.Ni-based materials are effective catalysts for anodic urea electrooxidation reaction(UOR).However,the complex and sluggish kinetics of UOR lead to low activity and poor stability of Ni-based catalysts,resulting in generally lower power density of DUFCs.The key to realizing the application of DUFCs lies in the modification of Ni-based catalysts,constructing efficient and stable catalyst layers and the related membrane electrode assemblies(MEA).Therefore,the research progress of anode catalysts assembled into DUFCs was reviewed in detail.Furthermore,the effect mechanism(including the support effect and synergistic effect)on the DUFC performance of the composition structure for the modified catalysts was deeply analyzed.The review aims to provide a scientific basis for the efficient and stable UOR catalyst design.In addition,the research progress of the membrane materials in DUFC systems and the fabrication of the MEA were described.Finally,the research priorities and future directions in this field were summarized and proposed,which contributed to the development of high-performance DUFCs achieving commercialization.