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Title: Fuel cell anode configuration for CO tolerance

Patent ·
OSTI ID:1175128

A polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) is designed to operate on a reformate fuel stream containing oxygen and diluted hydrogen fuel with CO impurities. A polymer electrolyte membrane has an electrocatalytic surface formed from an electrocatalyst mixed with the polymer and bonded on an anode side of the membrane. An anode backing is formed of a porous electrically conductive material and has a first surface abutting the electrocatalytic surface and a second surface facing away from the membrane. The second surface has an oxidation catalyst layer effective to catalyze the oxidation of CO by oxygen present in the fuel stream where at least the layer of oxidation catalyst is formed of a non-precious metal oxidation catalyst selected from the group consisting of Cu, Fe, Co, Tb, W, Mo, Sn, and oxides thereof, and other metals having at least two low oxidation states.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-36
Assignee:
The Regents of the University of California (Los Alamos, NM)
Patent Number(s):
6,818,341
Application Number:
09/848,823
OSTI ID:
1175128
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (1)

Removal of CO from methanol reforming gas by low temperature shift reaction
  • Eguchi, Koichi; Yano, Sei-ichi; Utaka, Toshimasa
  • Science and Technology in Catalysis 1998, Proceedings of the Third Tokyo Conference on Advanced Catalytic Science and Technology https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-2991(99)80115-3
book January 1999