Performance of a direct ethylene glycol fuel cell with an anion-exchange membrane

• Published in: International journal of hydrogen energy Vol. 35; no. 9; pp. 4329 - 4335
• Main Authors: An, L., Zhao, T.S., Shen, S.Y., Wu, Q.X., Chen, R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-05-2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Anion-exchange membrane; Anodes; Applied sciences; Catalysis; Direct oxidation fuel cell; Electrocatalysts; Energy; Energy. Thermal use of fuels; Equipments for energy generation and conversion: thermal, electrical, mechanical energy, etc; Ethylene glycol; Exact sciences and technology; Fuel cell; Fuel cells; Maximum power density; Membranes; Non-platinum catalyst; Operation conditions; Power density; Reaction kinetics; Power density; Ethylene glycol; Direct oxidation fuel cell; Operation conditions; Non-platinum catalyst; Fuel cell; Anion-exchange membrane; High performance; Anion exchange; Electrocatalysis; Membrane; Oxidation; Kinetics; Performance; Catalyst
• ISSN: 0360-3199; 1879-3487
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2010.02.009

This paper reports on the development and performance test of an alkaline direct ethylene glycol fuel cell. The fuel cell consists of an anion-exchange membrane with non-platinum electrocatalysts at both the anode and cathode. It is demonstrated that this type of fuel cell with relatively cheap membranes and catalysts can result in a maximum power density of 67
mW
cm
−2 at 60
°C, which represents the highest performance that has so far been reported in the open literature. The high performance is mainly attributed to the increased kinetics of both the ethylene glycol oxidation reaction and oxygen reduction reaction rendered by the alkaline medium with the anion-exchange membrane.