Graphene As A Catalyst Support Material In Direct Formic Acid Fuel Cells



Table of Content

CHAPTER 01: FUEL CELLS1

History, Structure and Working Principles1

Types of Fuel Cells2

Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells3

Direct Methanol Fuel Cells3

Alkaline Fuel Cells3

Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cells4

Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells4

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells4

Regenerative Fuel Cells4

Advantages of Fuel Cells (About 1 page)5

High efficiency conversion5

High power density5

Quiet operation5

Disadvantage6

Application Areas (About 2 pages)6

CHAPTER 2: DIRECT FORMIC ACID FUEL CELLS8

Structure and Components of PEM Fuel Cells (About 2 Pages)8

Types Of PEM Fuel Cells (About 1 Page)10

Alkaline Fuel Cells (AFC)10

Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cells (PAFC)10

Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells (MCFC)11

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC)11

Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC)12

Regenerative Fuel Cells (RFC)12

Direct Formic Acid Fuel Cells13

CHAPTER 03: GRAPHENE16

Carbon allotropes and their mechanical and electrical properties16

Diamond18

Graphite19

Fullerene (C60)19

Amorphous carbon (a-C)19

Hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H)20

Graphene in Electronics23

Basic properties and growth methods of graphene24

Graphene as a electrode support in Fuel Cells28

CHAPTER 01: FUEL CELLS

History, Structure and Working Principles

In 1800, British scientists William Nicholson and Anthony Carlisle had described the process of using electricity to decompose water into hydrogen and oxygen. William Robert Grove, however took this idea one step further or, more accurately, one step in reverse in 1838. Grove discovered that by arranging two platinum electrodes with one end of each immersed in a container of sulfuric acid and the other ends separately sealed in containers of oxygen and hydrogen, a constant current would flow between the electrodes. The sealed containers held water as well as the gases, and he noted that the water level rose in both tubes as the current flowed. By combining several sets of these electrodes in a series curcuit, he created what he called a "gas battery"- the first fuel cell. In 1889, Ludwig Mond and assistant Carl Langer described their experiments with a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell that attained 6 amps per square foot (measuring the surface area of the electrode) at .73 volts. Mond and Langer's cell used electrodes of thin, perforated platinum.

Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald, a founder of the field of physical chemistry, provided much of the theoretical understanding of how fuel cells operate. In 1893, he experimentally determined the interconnected roles of the various components of the fuel cell: electrodes, electrolyte, oxidizing and reducing agents, anions, and cations. Grove had speculated that the action in his gas battery occurred at the point of contact between electrode, gas, and electrolyte, but was at a loss to explain further. Ostwald, drawing on his pioneering work in relating physical properties and chemical reactions, solved the puzzle of Grove's gas battery. His exploration of the underlying chemistry of fuel cells laid the groundwork for later fuel cell researchers.

Francis Thomas Bacon (1904 -1992) began researching alkali electrolyte fuel cells in the late 1930s. In 1939, he built a cell that used nickel gauze electrodes and operated under pressure as high as 3000 psi. During World War II, Bacon worked on developing a fuel cell that could be used in Royal Navy submarines, and in 1958 demonstrated an alkali cell using a stack of 10-inch diameter electrodes for Britain's ...