TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparative performance evaluation of self-basifying direct formate fuel cells
AU - Sun, Xianda
AU - Li, Yinshi
AU - An, Liang
AU - Lv, Xiaomeng
N1 - This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51776156), Shenzhen Science and Technology Foundation (JCYJ20170816100910119), and Natural Science Basic Research Plan in Shaanxi Province of China (2019JM-011). There are no conflicts to declare.
PY - 2019/1/1
Y1 - 2019/1/1
N2 - Formate that is capable of synthesizing from electrochemical conversion of CO2 efficiently is emerging as one of promising fuels for direct liquid fuel cells. In this work, a comparative study on performance of self-basifying direct formate fuel cell that contains non-platinum catalysts, neutral polymer and anion-exchange membrane is reported. Experimental result shows that the peak power density (PPD) of self-basifying direct formate fuel cell reaches 47 mW cm-2 at 60°C without additional base. It is found that the competition between the quickened electrokinetics and increased mass and charge transport resistances induces an optimal anode and cathode Pd loading of 3.0 mg cm-2. The PPD first improves and then decreases with PTFE content in cathode, resulting in an optimal content of 10 wt%. In contrast, it decreases monotonically with anode PTFE content. In addition, the cell performance varies slightly with formate concentration due to the competitive adsorption between HCOO- and OH-. A moderate oxygen flow rate of 100 sccm is required for the highest performance. Moreover, elevating operating temperature quickens electrokinetics and facilitates mass and charge transfer, improving cell performance significantly.
AB - Formate that is capable of synthesizing from electrochemical conversion of CO2 efficiently is emerging as one of promising fuels for direct liquid fuel cells. In this work, a comparative study on performance of self-basifying direct formate fuel cell that contains non-platinum catalysts, neutral polymer and anion-exchange membrane is reported. Experimental result shows that the peak power density (PPD) of self-basifying direct formate fuel cell reaches 47 mW cm-2 at 60°C without additional base. It is found that the competition between the quickened electrokinetics and increased mass and charge transport resistances induces an optimal anode and cathode Pd loading of 3.0 mg cm-2. The PPD first improves and then decreases with PTFE content in cathode, resulting in an optimal content of 10 wt%. In contrast, it decreases monotonically with anode PTFE content. In addition, the cell performance varies slightly with formate concentration due to the competitive adsorption between HCOO- and OH-. A moderate oxygen flow rate of 100 sccm is required for the highest performance. Moreover, elevating operating temperature quickens electrokinetics and facilitates mass and charge transfer, improving cell performance significantly.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85072910771&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1149/2.0751912jes
DO - 10.1149/2.0751912jes
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85072910771
SN - 0013-4651
VL - 166
SP - F768-F773
JO - Journal of the Electrochemical Society
JF - Journal of the Electrochemical Society
IS - 12
ER -