摘要:Hydrogen Fuel Cell Info原创BY：Becky（转载请注明出处）点击上方蓝色字体，关注我们INRS Researchers Develop a New Membraneless Fuel Cell加拿大国立科学研究院（INRS）研发新型无膜燃料电池MONTREAL, Sept. 29, ... ...
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Info
原创BY：Becky（转载请注明出处）
点击上方蓝色字体，关注我们
INRS Researchers Develop a New Membraneless Fuel Cell
加拿大国立科学研究院（INRS）研发新型无膜燃料电池
MONTREAL, Sept. 29, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - The research team of INRS (Institut national de la recherche scientifique) Professor Mohamed Mohamedi has designed a green membraneless fuel cell that uses oxygen from the air. The results of this innovative microfluidic application—a first in Canada—were published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews.
2020年9月29日，加拿大，蒙特利尔-加拿大国立科学研究院的研发团队Mohamed Mohamedi教授设计了一种绿色的无膜燃料电池，该电池可利用空气中的氧气。这种创新性的微流体应用的结果（在加拿大尚属首次）发表在了 Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews上。
Conventional fuel cells are ubiquitous. They power electric cars on today's roads and were part of the computers used in the 1969 Apollo moon landing. These fuel cells lose voltage as they are used and eventually stop working. This happens because alcohol molecules (methanol or ethanol) in the fuel cell's anode compartment crossover the membrane separating them from the cathode compartment. Oxygen molecules in the cathode compartment react with the alcohol, causing a drop in voltage.
Numerous scientists have unsuccessfully tried to develop a membrane that stops alcohol molecules from passing through it. Professor Mohamed Mohamedi, a lead author of the study published on September 8, took another tack: developing a fuel cell without a membrane.
His novel solution costs less and requires fewer steps to manufacture, but it fails to address a key challenge. "When the membrane is removed, the methanol or ethanol reacts with the oxygen, just like in conventional fuel cells. To prevent voltage drops, we had to develop selective electrodes in the cathode compartment. These electrodes, designed by doctoral student Juan Carlos Abrego-Martinez, remain inactive in the presence of alcohol molecules but are sensitive to the oxygen that generates electricity," Professor Mohamedi explains. He notes another unique property of this membraneless fuel cell: it uses oxygen from the air around it.
他提出新颖解决方案，成本低，生产步骤更少，但无法解决关键的问题。“移除了膜以后，甲醇或是乙醇就会和氧气发生反应，像传统的燃料电池一样。为防止电压下降，我们必须在阴极室中研发选择性的电极。这些电极是由博士生Juan Carlos Abrego-Martinez所设计的，这些电极在有酒精分子的情况下仍保持惰性，但对生电的氧气很敏感。” Mohamedi教授解释说。他指出这种无膜燃料电池的另一个特性：它利用周围空气中的氧气。
From Model to Prototype
从模型到原型
The first step the researchers took in building a working prototype was to run numerical simulations created by Alonso Moreno Zuria, INRS postdoctoral fellow and a lead author of the study. Through computer modelling, the team tested different configurations of selective electrodes in the fuel cell. "Conventional fuel cells are like sandwiches, with the membrane in the middle. We chose instead to work on a single-layer design. We had to determine how to arrange and space the electrodes to maximize fuel use while keeping ambient air oxygen concentration in mind," says Professor Mohamedi.
Once the researchers settled on a configuration, they tested a prototype that became a proof of concept. The membraneless fuel cell powered an LED for four hours using only 234 microlitres of methanol. The researchers want to optimize the fuel cell so it can use ethanol, a greener fuel that can be produced from biomass and agricultural waste. Ethanol also provides more power per equivalent unit of volume.
The team expects the fuel cell to power portable electronics such as mobile phones and microsystems such as air pollution sensors. Unlike conventional batteries that store electricity and must be recharged, fuel cells continue to produce energy as long as fuel is available. "This energy supply method is particularly effective when recharging is not possible. Imagine being in the middle of the desert, without electricity. You could recharge your mobile phone using a small capsule of ethanol that you connect to the device," says Professor Mohamedi.
