质子交换膜燃料电池及电池组模型分析

本文对现有质子交换膜燃料电池以及电池组模型进行比较分析,认为数学模型的建立,可以增加对燃料电池及电池组内部的传递现象和反应机理的认识,同时可以预测电池以及电池组的性能,并且对优化电池结构参数具有指导意义.模型分析包括了现阶段质子交换膜燃料电池单电池模型和电池组模型的基本类别,它们是单电池CFD数值模拟模型、单电池以及电池组性能模拟模型、燃料电池组气体分配模型、系统模型和非稳态模型.比较了几种模型的建模方式及不同模型的应用范围和各自的优缺点.     

Regulation of Power Conversion in Fuel Cells

Here we report a regulation about power conversion in fuel ceils. This regulation is expressed as that to-tal power produced by fuel ceils is always proportional to the square of the potential difference between the equilibrium potential and work potential. With this regulation we deduced fuel cell performance equation which can describe the potential vs. the current performance curves, namely, polarization curves of fuel cells with three power source parameters: equilibrium potential E0; internal resistance R; and power conversion coefficient K. The concept of the power conversion coefficient is a new criterion to evaluate and compare the characteristics and capacity of different fuel ceils. The calculated values obtained with this equation agree with practical performance of different types of fuel cells.     

直接甲醇燃料电池中的涉水传递现象及数值模拟

直接甲醇燃料电池（DMFC）的开发设计日渐成为燃料电池领域的研究热点。利用数学模型对内部传递现象进行数值模拟,不仅具有很强的理论意义,而且对结构设计和操作条件优化有很强的指导意义。本文基于两相流模型和CFD（computer fluid dynamics）技术的应用,综述了电池内部绝大多数的传递过程,特别是近些年开发的电池内部与水相关的传递过程的物理模型和数学模型,并以二者的相互联系加以组织。这些模型思想综合考虑了微观传递机理,描述了电池内复杂的传递现象并提供了相应的数值模拟方法和模型验证方法。这些方法能够加深人们对电池内部传质现象的理解,而其实用意义在于能够指导设计和优化电池结构、提高电池的体积和重量比能量密度和缩短开发周期和大幅度降低开发成本。     

钯基氧还原和乙醇氧化反应电催化剂:关于结构和机理研究的一些近期见解

质子交换膜燃料电池和直接乙醇燃料电池已成为可持续性清洁能源研究的一个聚焦点.在燃料电池中,氧还原反应和乙醇氧化反应是两个重要的反应,其相关高活性、高稳定性并且廉价的催化剂的研发仍然存在很多问题,极大地制约了燃料电池的大规模商业化应用.其中的挑战主要来自于对纳米催化剂结构和反应机理的有限认识.由于实验表征理论计算的结合,...     

直接甲醇燃料电池纳米结构电催化材料及多孔电极研究

直接甲醇燃料电池(DMFC)因其燃料能量密度高,工作温度低,低污染排放等优点被认为是用作移动设备电源的最佳选择之一,至今已有美国的Oorja Protonics公司和丹麦的IRD公司等新能源相关企业相继发布了多款用于手机、电脑、通信基站、叉式装卸机或房车的商业产品.然而, DMFC内部的复杂情况造成的多种不同的电压损失仍旧使得其实际电压效率远低于理论值.其中从阳极渗透到阴极的甲醇造成的混合电位导致的电压损失尤为明显.目前,众多研究人员都致力于开发高稳定性、高耐久性、高性能且低成本的催化材料体系,以克服传统Pt催化剂存在的各种问题.除了催化剂本身之外, DMFC的问题还与其中膜电极的微结构和电化学特性息息相关.膜电极是化学能通过电催化氧化还原反应转化为电能的反应场所,通常由阳极扩散层、阳极催化层、质子交换膜、阴极催化层和阴极扩散层依序组合而成.通过对MEA中的各层进行优化,如传质管理和甲醇渗透等问题都能得到有效解决.
　　近年来,纳米技术常被用于改进DMFC性能的研究.具备纳米结构的金属-碳/金属氧化物载体类催化材料得到了广泛研究.这些电催化材料在制备方法、结构和组分上都有较大区别.结构方面,许多研究都证明制备纳米级多孔网络结构或者有序阵列结构的催化层有助于提高催化性能和Pt的利用率.组分方面,许多研究人员都开展了引入Pt以外金属成分或金属氧化物来改变Pt催化剂的表面电子状态的研究.引入这些组分导致的配位体效应可以通过弱化Pt与H+, OH-或COads等的相互作用来起到抗催化毒化和提高催化效率的作用.尽管对于DMFC领域的认知逐渐完善,但是仍有许多问题有待解决.因此,本文介绍了目前用于DMFC的纳米结构电催化材料和多孔电极的研究进展.重点介绍了纳米结构催化剂和载体材料的合成及表征.
　　通过对比不同催化材料的特性可以发现,在本文涉及到的催化材料中, In0.1SnO2-Pt和(MoO3)0.2SnO2-Pt/C表现出了最高的催化活性,但是它们高效催化甲醇电氧化所需的碱性环境与现在占绝对主流地位的Nafion质子交换膜所必须的酸性环境相冲突,所以其实际应用价值在碱性阴离子交换膜研究取得突破前都难以有效发挥.而另一类表现较好的采用溶致液晶模板法合成的纳米树枝状和纳米星形Pt催化剂则存在制备工艺难以商业规模化的问题.总的来说,采用溶剂热合成法制备的Pt-NRCeO2/GNs和Pt/Ti0.9Sn0.1O2-C等纳米结构金属氧化物、碳材料复合载体和Pt基贵金属催化剂组成的催化材料体系不仅催化性能相对于商业化Pt纳米颗粒有很大提高,而且制备方法易于商业规模化,值得进一步关注.此外,本文还介绍了如内部传质过程的理论建模计算和膜电极中功能结构的制备等优化DMFC中多孔电极内传质过程的方法.通过计算机模拟得到优化DMFC内部传质过程所需的扩散层、催化层的传质特性相关参数,再通过改进MEA制备工艺,有效控制各层的结构参数向模拟的优化值靠拢,能够实现DMFC性能的有效提升.综合模拟、实验研究及工艺研究结果,根据实际需要,设计和制备包含新功能层的MEA的相关研究也更进一步提高了DMFC的性能和实用性.就目前的研究情况而言,如果在性能提升的基础上,使用寿命再取得突破, DMFC一定会有很好的商业应用前景.     

First-principles computational approach for innovative design of highly functional electrocatalysts in fuel cells

Design of highly active and stable electrocatalyst is a major objective in a fuel cell. The special situation imposed to the electrocatalyst such as one of the most sluggish catalysis of oxygen reduction reaction, inherent structural instability of dispersed nanoparticle, harsh electrochemical conditions of electric potential and nonzero pH aqueous solution requires unique attention in the design. Considering that various attempts have been made for the purpose, high-speed but rigorous formalisms to evaluate the performance of candidates are crucial.This review article briefly introduces recently developed first-principles computational methodologies mainly applied to catalytic activity and electrochemical stability of electrocatalysts in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Innovative design principles deduced from the outcomes are clearly discussed.     

Electrochemical pressure impedance spectroscopy for investigation of mass transfer in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

Mass transfer phenomena in membrane fuel cells are complex and diversified because of the presence of complex transport pathways including porous media of very different pore sizes and possible formation of liquid water. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, although allowing valuable information on ohmic phenomena, charge transfer and mass transfer phenomena, may nevertheless appear insufficient below 1 Hz. Use of another variable, that is, back pressure, as an excitation variable for electrochemical pressure impedance spectroscopy is shown here a promising tool for investigations and diagnosis of fuel cells.     

Solid oxide fuel cells

Despite being first demonstrated over 160 years ago, and offering significant environmental benefits and high electrical efficiency, it is only in the last two decades that fuel cells have offered a realistic prospect of being commercially viable. The solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) offers great promise and is presently the subject of intense research activity. Unlike other fuel cells the SOFC is a solid-state device which operates at elevated temperatures. This review discusses the particular issues facing the development of a high temperature solid-state fuel cell and the inorganic materials currently used and under investigation for such cells, together with the problems associated with operating SOFCs on practical hydrocarbon fuels.     

Polyelectrolyte Membranes Based on Sulfonated Syndiotactic Polystyrene in Its Clathrate Form

Recently, more and more attention has been focused on new techniques for energy production also in view of environmental problems. A noticeable device is small fuel cell that converts chemical energy into electric energy by electrochemical reaction of hydrogen with oxygen, and exhibits a high-energy efficiency. Conventional small fuel cells have been classified into phosphoric acid-type fuel cells, molten carbonate-type fuel cells, solid oxide-type fuel cells, solid polymer type fuel cells, etc., according to the type of electrolyte used. The target of this work is the development of a new process to build up polyelectrolyte membranes, for polymer type fuel cell (PEM), by sulfonating syndiotactic polystyrene in its clathrate form. The polyelectrolyte membranes of this paper are inexpensive and exhibit good long-term stability and ion exchange capability.     

Theoretical Aspects on Doped-Zirconia for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells: from Structure to Conductivity

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are regarded to be a key clean energy system to convert chemical energy (e.g. H₂ and O₂) into electrical energy with high efficiency, low carbon footprint, and fuel flexibility. The electrolyte, typically doped zirconia, is the "state of the heart" of the fuel cell technologies, determining the performance and the operating temperature of the overall cells. Yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) have been widely used in SOFC due to its excellent oxide ion conductivity at high temperature. The composition and temperature dependence of the conductivity has been hotly studied in experiment and, more recently, by theoretical simulations. The characterization of the atomic structure for the mixed oxide system with different compositions is the key for elucidating the conductivity behavior, which, however, is of great challenge to both experiment and theory. This review presents recent theoretical progress on the structure and conductivity of YSZ electrolyte. We compare different theoretical methods and their results, outlining the merits and deficiencies of the methods. We highlight the recent results achieved by using stochastic surface walking global optimization with global neural network potential (SSW-NN) method, which appear to agree with available experimental data. The advent of machine-learning atomic simulation provides an affordable, efficient and accurate way to understand the complex material phenomena as encountered in solid electrolyte. The future research directions for design better electrolytes are also discussed.     

Performance of planar electrode-supported high-temperature solid oxide fuel cell using syngas

In China, coal is a dominant energy source. In order to ensure China’s energy security, coal should be used efficiently and cleanly. Integrated gasification fuel cell hybrid power generation system is a promising system for coal utilization. It combines clean coal gasification technology with high efficient fuel cell technology. In this work, the performance of solid oxide fuel cell using syngas as fuel was investigated, based on the commercial computational fluid dynamic software and the developed program used to analyze chemical, electrochemical, heat/mass transfer, current, and electric potential. The results show that the temperature difference is about 300 K in the cell under all calculation conditions. Along the cell length, hydrogen concentration rapidly reduces, and its decrement is larger than that of carbon monoxide. The variation of current density in electrolyte layer is relatively small along the direction of gas flow, but it is obvious along the direction vertical to gas flow.     

核-壳结构氧还原反应电催化剂

The high cost of platinum in catalyst layers hinders the commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. This Account reviews recent progress on core-shell nanostructures for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in acidic media, which is the cathodic reaction in fuel cells. The synthesis, characterization and evaluation of different types of core-shell electrocatalysts are summarized. Various strategies to improve the performance of core-shell electrocatalysts, including dealloying, morphology control, and surface modification are presented. The issues of mass production and fuel cell performance of core-shell electrocatalysts are also discussed.     

Catalysis in high-temperature fuel cells

Catalysis plays a critical role in solid oxide fuel cell systems. The electrochemical reactions within the cell--oxygen dissociation on the cathode and electrochemical fuel combustion on the anode--are catalytic reactions. The fuels used in high-temperature fuel cells, for example, natural gas, propane, or liquid hydrocarbons, need to be preprocessed to a form suitable for conversion on the anode-sulfur removal and pre-reforming. The unconverted fuel (economic fuel utilization around 85%) is commonly combusted using a catalytic burner. Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd. has developed anodes that in addition to having electrochemical activity also are reactive for internal steam reforming of methane. This can simplify fuel preprocessing, but its main advantage is thermal management of the fuel cell stack by endothermic heat removal. Using this approach, the objective of fuel preprocessing is to produce a methane-rich fuel stream but with all higher hydrocarbons removed. Sulfur removal can be achieved by absorption or hydro-desulfurization (HDS). Depending on the system configuration, hydrogen is also required for start-up and shutdown. Reactor operating parameters are strongly tied to fuel cell operational regimes, thus often limiting optimization of the catalytic reactors. In this paper we discuss operation of an authothermal reforming reactor for hydrogen generation for HDS and start-up/shutdown, and development of a pre-reformer for converting propane to a methane-rich fuel stream.     

A microfluidic fuel cell with flow-through porous electrodes

A microfluidic fuel cell architecture incorporating flow-through porous electrodes is demonstrated. The design is based on cross-flow of aqueous vanadium redox species through the electrodes into an orthogonally arranged co-laminar exit channel, where the waste solutions provide ionic charge transfer in a membraneless configuration. This flow-through architecture enables improved utilization of the three-dimensional active area inside the porous electrodes and provides enhanced rates of convective/diffusive transport without increasing the parasitic loss required to drive the flow. Prototype fuel cells are fabricated by rapid prototyping with total material cost estimated at 2 USD/unit. Improved performance as compared to previous microfluidic fuel cells is demonstrated, including power densities at room temperature up to 131 mW cm-2. In addition, high overall energy conversion efficiency is obtained through a combination of relatively high levels of fuel utilization and cell voltage. When operated at 1 microL min-1 flow rate, the fuel cell produced 20 mW cm-2 at 0.8 V combined with an active fuel utilization of 94%. Finally, we demonstrate in situ fuel and oxidant regeneration by running the flow-through architecture fuel cell in reverse.     

Computational analysis of a molten-salt electrochemical system for nuclear waste treatment

This paper describes ongoing research into the multi-physics model development of an electrorefining process for the treatment of spent nuclear fuel. A forced convection of molten eutectic (LiCl–KCl) electrolyte in an electrorefining cell is considered to establish an appropriate electro-fluid model within the 3-dimensional framework of a conventional computational fluid dynamic model. This computational platform includes the electrochemical reaction rate of charge transfer kinetics which is described by a Butler–Volmer equation, while mass transport is considered using an ionic transport equation. The coupling of the local overpotential distribution and uranium concentration gradient makes it possible to predict the local current density distribution at the electrode surfaces.     

中温固体氧化物燃料电池优势和挑战的简要评述

燃料电池是一种将燃料的化学能直接转化为电能的电化学发电装置. 在各种类型的燃料电池中,固体氧化物燃料电池（SOFC）在600~800 ^oC的中温区运行,因此与质子交换膜燃料电池等低温燃料电池相比,它的燃料选择范围更广,具有更广泛的应用前景. 然而,SOFC的商业应用面临着两大挑战：成本和稳定性. 这两种挑战与阳极、阴极、电解质、连接体和密封材料等组件的加工、制备、性能、化学和微结构稳定性密切相关. 电池堆的导管连接材料也需要经过仔细地筛选,以最大限度地降低有毒害的挥发性成分,从而确保电池结构的稳定和完整. 本文旨在简要评述SOFC的材料和组分的研究现状,并提出展望. 本文也对新一代SOFC技术面临的机遇和挑战进行了探讨.     

磺化嵌段型共聚物在质子交换膜燃料电池中的应用

燃料电池是以碳氢化合物为燃料的一种新型、清洁的发电装置,而其中的质子交换膜燃料电池由于具有可快速启动的优点而可应用于机动车等领域。所用的质子交换膜需要具有高的质子传导性、低的甲醇/水渗透性、好的机械和热稳定性以及合适的价格等特点,但目前已经工业化的Nafion膜并未能全部满足上述要求。为了解决这些问题,目前已经开发了多种新的质子交换膜。本文对其中的磺化嵌段型聚醚砜、磺化嵌段型聚酰亚胺和苯乙烯基嵌段共聚物在质子交换膜燃料电池中的应用进行了综述,并与Nafion膜和相应的无规共聚物的性能进行了比较。最后展望了嵌段共聚物在质子交换膜领域的发展趋势。     

Coupled Dynamics of Anode and Cathode in Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

An external reference electrode was used to monitor individually the evolution of the anodic and cathodic potentials during the stationary as well as oscillatory operation of a Direct Formic Acid Fuel Cell (DFAFC) and a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC). Besides evidencing the large activation loss in both cells, we were able to observe how the oscillatory operation of such devices affects their cathodes. In fact, cathodic oscillations synchronized with the cell voltage dynamics were observed, hitherto never reported on fuel cells. We have addressed these phenomena taking into account two main coupling processes: through the proton concentration and a global coupling stemming from the control mode (potentiostatic or galvanostatic).     

Hybrid direct carbon fuel cells and their reaction mechanisms—a review

As coal is expected to continue to dominate power generation demands worldwide, it is advisable to pursue the development of more efficient coal power generation technologies. Fuel cells show a much higher fuel utilization efficiency, emit fewer pollutants (NO _x , SO _x ), and are more easily combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS) due to the high purity of CO₂ emitted in the exhaust gas. Direct carbon (or coal) fuel cells (DCFCs) are directly fed with solid carbon to the anode chamber. The fuel cell converts the carbon at the anode and the oxygen at the cathode into electricity, heat and reaction products. The use of an external gasifier and a fuel cell operating on syngas (e.g. integrated gasification fuel cells) is briefly discussed for comparative purposes. A wide array of DCFC types have been investigated over the last 20 years. Here, the diversity of pre-commercialization DCFC research efforts is discussed on the fuel cell stack and system levels. The range of DCFC types can be roughly broken down into four fuel cell types: aqueous hydroxide, molten hydroxide, molten carbonate and solid oxide fuel cells. Emphasis is placed on the electrochemical reactions occurring at the anode and the proposed mechanism(s) of these reactions for molten carbonate, solid oxide and hybrid direct carbon fuel cells. Additionally, the criteria of choosing the ‘best’ DCFC technology is explored, including system design (continuous supply of solid fuel), performance (power density, efficiency), environmental burden (fresh water consumed, solid waste produced, CO₂ emitted, ease of combination with CCS) and economics (levelized cost of electricity).     

Polymer electrolyte membranes for the direct methanol fuel cell: A review

The direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) has the potential to replace lithium‐ion rechargeable batteries in portable electronic devices, but currently experiences significant power density and efficiency losses due to high methanol crossover through polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs). Numerous publications document the synthesis and characterization of new PEMs for the DMFC. This article reviews this research, transport phenomena in PEMs, and experimental techniques used to evaluate new PEMs for the DMFC. Although many PEMs do not show significant improvements over Nafion®, the benchmark PEM in DMFCs, experimental results show that several new PEMs exhibit lower methanol crossover at similar proton conductivities and/or higher DMFC power densities. These results and recommendations for future research are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Parts B: Polym Phys 44: 2201–2225, 2006