A team of chemists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has introduced a new fuel cell catalyst approach that uses a molecular catalyst system instead of solid catalysts.
Credit: Stahl Group/University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Instead of expensive platinum etc, a metal-free alternative catalyst for fuel cells may be at hand. A team of chemists from University of Wisconsin-Madison introduces a new approach that uses a molecular catalyst system instead of solid catalysts. Although molecular catalysts have been explored before, earlier examples were much less efficient than the traditional platinum catalyst.
A fuel cell converts chemical energy into electricity by reacting H2 and O2 at 2 different electrodes. A catalyst makes the reaction more efficient.
Prof Stahl and scientist Gerken took inspiration from their group’s previous work with catalysts that use oxygen in apps for the chemical industry. They noticed a striking similarity between these aerobic oxidation reactions and the oxygen reaction in fuel cells and decided to see if they could apply a similar approach to a fuel cell.
>>The new catalyst is composed of a mixture of molecules called nitroxyls and nitrogen oxides. One reacts well with the electrode while the other reacts efficiently with the oxygen. “It turns out that it is the most effective molecular catalyst system ever reported.”
“This work shows for the first time that molecular catalysts can approach the efficiency of platinum,” Gerken says. “And the advantage of molecules is that you can continue to modify their structure to climb further up the mountain to achieve even better efficiency.” http://news.wisc.edu/23894
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