Development of Double‐Perovskite Compounds as Cathode Materials for Low‐Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

A class of double‐perovskite compounds display fast oxygen ion diffusion and high catalytic activity toward oxygen reduction while maintaining excellent compatibility with the electrolyte. The astoundingly extended stability of NdBa_1−xCa_xCo₂O_5+δ (NBCaCO) under both air and CO₂‐containing atmosphere is reported along with excellent electrochemical performance by only Ca doping into the A site of NdBaCo₂O_5+δ (NBCO). The enhanced stability can be ascribed to both the increased electron affinity of mobile oxygen species with Ca, determined through density functional theory calculations and the increased redox stability from the coulometric titration.     

直接甲醇燃料电池高稳定性Pt/RuO_2/C阴极催化剂研究

应用湿化学法制备RuO2/C纳米复合物,并以其为载体借助微波法制备成Pt/RuO2/C催化剂.使用透射电镜和X射线衍射分析RuO2/C载体、Pt/RuO2/C催化剂的形貌及晶体结构;循环伏安、稳态阳极腐蚀和旋转圆盘电极等测试电化学性能.结果表明,Pt/RuO2/C催化剂具有良好的耐甲醇渗透性和稳定性,可有效延长催化剂的使用寿命.本文为探索新型高性能DMFC阴极催化剂之制备提供了一条较好的途径.     

Unsupported Pt‐Ni Aerogels with Enhanced High Current Performance and Durability in Fuel Cell Cathodes

Highly active and durable oxygen reduction catalysts are needed to reduce the costs and enhance the service life of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). This can be accomplished by alloying Pt with a transition metal (for example Ni) and by eliminating the corrodible, carbon‐based catalyst support. However, materials combining both approaches have seldom been implemented in PEFC cathodes. In this work, an unsupported Pt‐Ni alloy nanochain ensemble (aerogel) demonstrates high current PEFC performance commensurate with that of a carbon‐supported benchmark (Pt/C) following optimization of the aerogel's catalyst layer (CL) structure. The latter is accomplished using a soluble filler to shift the CL's pore size distribution towards larger pores which improves reactant and product transport. Chiefly, the optimized PEFC aerogel cathodes display a circa 2.5‐fold larger surface‐specific ORR activity than Pt/C and maintain 90 % of the initial activity after an accelerated stress test (vs. 40 % for Pt/C).     

The Comparability of Pt to Pt‐Ru in Catalyzing the Hydrogen Oxidation Reaction for Alkaline Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells Operated at 80 °C

The Pt‐catalyzed hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) for alkaline polymer electrolyte fuel cells (APEFCs) has been one of the focus subjects in current fuel‐cell research. The Pt catalyst is inferior for HOR in alkaline solutions, and alloying with Ru is an effective promotion strategy. APEFCs with Pt‐Ru anodes have provided a performance benchmark over 1 W cm^?2 at 60 °C. The Pt anode is now found to be in fact as good as the Pt‐Ru anode for APEFCs operated at elevated conditions. At 80 °C with appropriate gas back‐pressure, the cell with a Pt anode exhibits a peak power density of about 1.9 W cm^?2, which is very close to that with a Pt‐Ru anode. Even by decreasing the anode Pt loading to 0.1 mg cm^?2, over 1.5 W cm^?2 can still be achieved at 80 °C. This finding alters the previous understanding about the Pt catalyzed HOR in alkaline media and casts a new light on the development of practical and high‐power APFEC technology.     

A Sodium-Ion-Conducting Direct Formate Fuel Cell: Generating Electricity and Producing Base

A barrier that limits the development of the conventional cation-exchange membrane direct liquid fuel cells (CEM-DLFCs) is that the CEM-DLFCs need additional base to offer both alkaline environment and charge carriers. Herein, we propose a Na⁺-conducting direct formate fuel cell (Na-DFFC) that is operated in the absence of added base. A proof-of-concept Na-DFFC yields a peak power density of 33 mW cm⁻² at 60 °C, mainly because the hydrolysis of sodium formate provides enough OH⁻ and Na⁺ ions, proving the conceptual feasibility. Moreover, contrary to the conventional chlor-alkali process, this Na-DFFC enables to generate electricity and produce NaOH simultaneously without polluting the environment. The Na-DFFC runs stably during 13 hours of continuous operation at a constant current of 10 mA, along with a theoretical production of 195 mg NaOH. This work presents a new type of electrochemical conversion device that possesses a wide range of potential applications.     

Carbon‐Supported Divacancy‐Anchored Platinum Single‐Atom Electrocatalysts with Superhigh Pt Utilization for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Maximizing the platinum utilization in electrocatalysts toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is very desirable for large‐scale sustainable application of Pt in energy systems. A cost‐effective carbon‐supported carbon‐defect‐anchored platinum single‐atom electrocatalysts (Pt₁/C) with remarkable ORR performance is reported. An acidic H₂/O₂ single cell with Pt₁/C as cathode delivers a maximum power density of 520 mW cm^?2 at 80 °C, corresponding to a superhigh platinum utilization of 0.09 g_Pt kW^?1. Further physical characterization and density functional theory computations reveal that single Pt atoms anchored stably by four carbon atoms in carbon divacancies (Pt‐C₄) are the main active centers for the observed high ORR performance.     

直接甲醇燃料电池阴极耐甲醇Pd-Co/C电催化剂的制备与表征

以NaBH4为还原剂,采用共还原法和分步还原法制备了粒径分布均匀的Pd/C和Pd-Co/C电催化剂.X射线衍射、透射电镜、电化学循环伏安和旋转厕盘电极等表征结果表明,与Pd/C电催化剂相比,两种方法制备的Pd-Co/C电催化剂的晶格常数明显缩小,其中分步还原法制备的电催化剂不仅具有良好的氧还原活性,而且表现了良好的耐甲醇性能.     

直接甲醇燃料电池催化活性层的优化

本文考察了直接甲醇燃料电池 (DMFC)不同催化剂载量的膜电极性能 .对催化剂层中Nafion含量进行优化 ,研究了Nafion含量对电池的阻抗的影响 .实验发现 :DMFC适宜的阳极Pt_Ru/C载量为Pt 4mg/cm2 、Nafion质量百分含量为 2 1.4 % ;高电流密度下 ,阴极Pt/C载量为Pt4mg/cm2 、Nafion质量百分含量为 2 1.4 %时 ,有较好的放电性能 ,继续增加Nafion含量 ,阴极的欧姆极化和浓差极化增大 ,电池性能下降     

Single‐Enzyme Biofuel Cells

Herein, we demonstrate that the intramolecular electron transfer within a single enzyme molecule is an important alternative pathway that can be harnessed to generate electricity. By decoupling the redox reactions within a single type of enzyme (for example, Trametes versicolor laccase), we harvested electricity efficiently from unconventional fuels including recalcitrant pollutants (for example, bisphenol A and hydroquinone) in a single‐laccase biofuel cell. The intramolecular electron‐harnessing concept was further demonstrated with other enzymes, including power generation during CO₂ bioconversion to formate catalyzed by formate dehydrogenase from Candida boidinii . The novel single‐enzyme biofuel cell is shown to have potential for utilizing wastewater as a fuel as well as for generating energy while driving bioconversion of chemical feedstock from CO₂.