Al^(3+) doped CeO_(2) for proton conducting fuel cells

Developing high ionic conducting electrolytes is crucial for applying proton-conducting fuel cell(PCFCs)practically.The cur-rent study investigates the effect of alumina on the structural,morphological,electrical,and electrochemical properties of CeO_(2).Lattice oxygen vacancies are induced in CeO_(2) by a general doping concept that enables fast ionic conduction at low-temperature ranges(300-500℃)for PCFCs.Rietveld refinement of the X-ray diffraction(XRD)patterns established the pure cubic fluorite structure of Al-doped CeO_(2)(ADC)samples and confirmed Al ions’fruitful integration in the CeO_(2) lattice.The electronic structure of the alumina-doped ceria of the materials(10ADC,20ADC,and 30ADC)has been investigated.As a result,it was found that the best composition of 30ADC-based electrolytes induced maximum lattice oxygen vacancies.The corresponding PCFC exhibited a maximum power output of 923 mW/cm^(2)at 500℃.Moreover,the investigation proves the proton-conducting ability of alumina-doped ceria-based fuel cells by using an oxide ion-blocking layer.

Probing the Efficiency of PPMG-Based Composite Electrolytes for Applications of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

PPMG-based composite electrolytes were fabricated via the solution method using the polyvinyl alcohol and polyvinylpyrrolidone blend reinforced with various contents of sulfonated inorganic filler.Sulfuric acid was employed as the sulfonating agent to functionalize the external surface of the inorganic filler,i.e.,graphene oxide.The proton conductivities of the newly prepared proton exchange membranes(PEMs)were increased by increasing the temperature and content of sulfonated graphene oxide(SGO),i.e.,ranging from 0.025 S/cm to 0.060 S/cm.The induction of the optimum level of SGO is determined to be an excellent route to enhance ionic conductivity.The single-cell performance test was conducted by sandwiching the newly prepared PEMs between an anode(0.2 mg/cm^(2) Pt/Ru)and a cathode(0.2 mg/cm^(2) Pt)to prepare membrane electrode assemblies,followed by hot pressing under a pressure of approximately 100 kg/cm^(2) at 60℃for 5–10 min.The highest power densities achieved with PPMG PEMs were 14.9 and 35.60 mW/cm^(2) at 25℃and 70℃,respectively,at ambient pressure with 100%relative humidity.Results showed that the newly prepared PEMs exhibit good electrochemical performance.The results indicated that the prepared composite membrane with 6 wt%filler can be used as an alternative membrane for applications of high-performance proton exchange membrane fuel cell.

Effect of H_2S Flow Rate and Concentration on Performance of H_2S/Air Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

A solid state H2S/air electrochemical cell having the configuration of H2S, (MoS2+NiS+Ag)/YSZ/Pt, air has been examined with different H2S flow rates and concentrations at atmospheric pressure and 750-850 ℃. Performance of the fuel cell was dependent on anode compartment H2S flow rate and concentration. The cell open-circuit voltage increased with increasing H2S flow rate. It was found that increasing both H2S flow rate and H2S concentration improved current-voltage and power density performance. This is resulted from improved gas diffusion in anode and increased concentration of anodic electroactive species. Operation at elevated H2S concentration improved the cell performance at a given gas flow rate. However, as low as 5% H2S in gas mixture can also be utilized as fuel feed to cells. Highest current and power densities, 17500mA·cm-2 and 200mW·cm-2, are obtained with pure H2S flow rate of 50ml·min-1 and air flow rate of 100ml·min-1 at 850℃.

Performance evaluation of the incorporation of different wire meshes in between perforated current collectors and membrane electrode assembly on the Passive Direct methanol fuel cell

Passive Direct methanol fuel cells(DMFC)are more suitable for charging small capacity electronic devices.In passive DMFC,the fuel and oxidant are supplied by diffusion and natural convection process on the anode and cathode sides respectively.Current collectors(CC)play a vital importance in fuel cell performance.This paper presents the combined impact of perforated and wire mesh current collectors(WMCC)on passive DMFC performance.Three types of open ratios of perforated current collectors(PCC),such as 45.40%,55.40%and 63.40%and two types of wire mesh current collectors with open ratios of 38.70%and 45.40%were chosen for the experimental work.A combination of TaguchiL9 rule is considered.A combination of three PCC and two WMCC on both anode and cathode was used.Methanol concentration was varied from 1 mol·L^(-1)-5 mol·L^(-1)for nine combinations of PCC and WMCC.From the experimental results,it is noticed that the combination of PCC and WMCC with an open ratio of 55.40%and 38.70%incorporated passive DMFC produced peak power density at 5 mol·L^(-1)of methanol concentration.The passive DMFC performance was evaluated in terms of maximum power density and maximum current density.The combined current collectors of PCC and WMCC open ratios of 55.40%+38.70%have more stable voltage than single PCC of open ratio 63.40%at 4 mol·L^(-1)of methanol concentration.

An introduction on the demonstration performance of fuel cell buses (FCB) in Beijing

Since the 1990’s, hydrogen has found broad use in the traffic segment. Compared with conventional ones, hydrogen fuelled vehicles, a new generation of clean vehicles, produce no pollutants, with higher energy efficiency. In today’s world where the pollution is tougher, the "Zero Pollution" fuel cell buses display

Highly active iridium catalyst for hydrogen production from formic acid

Formic acid（FA） dehydrogenation has attracted a lot of attentions since it is a convenient method for H_2 production. In this work, we designed a self-supporting fuel cell system, in which H_2 from FA is supplied into the fuel cell, and the exhaust heat from the fuel cell supported the FA dehydrogenation. In order to realize the system, we synthesized a highly active and selective homogeneous catalyst Ir Cp＊Cl_2 bpym for FA dehydrogenation. The turnover frequency（TOF） of the catalyst for FA dehydrogenation is as high as7150 h^（-1）at 50°C, and is up to 144,000 h^（-1）at 90°C. The catalyst also shows excellent catalytic stability for FA dehydrogenation after several cycles of test. The conversion ratio of FA can achieve 93.2%, and no carbon monoxide is detected in the evolved gas. Therefore, the evolved gas could be applied in the proton exchange membrane fuel cell（PEMFC） directly. This is a potential technology for hydrogen storage and generation. The power density of the PEMFC driven by the evolved gas could approximate to that using pure hydrogen.