Direct glycerol fuel cell with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) thin film separator

Benipal, Neeva; Qi, Ji; Gentile, Jacob C.; Li, Wenzhen

doi:10.1016/j.renene.2016.12.028

Title: Direct glycerol fuel cell with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) thin film separator

Journal Article · Wed Jan 04 00:00:00 EST 2017 · Renewable Energy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2016.12.028· OSTI ID:1349647

Benipal, Neeva ^[1]; Qi, Ji ^[1]; Gentile, Jacob C. ^[1]; Li, Wenzhen ^[2]

Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)
Ames Lab. and Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

Here, anion-exchange membrane-based direct glycerol fuel cells (AEM-DGFCs) can yield high power density, however challenges exist in developing chemically stable AEMs. Here, we demonstrate a porous PTFE thin film, a well-known chemical, electro-chemical, and thermal robust material that can serve as a separator between anode and cathode, thus achieving high DGFC’s performance. A simple aqueous-phase reduction method was used to prepare carbon nanotube supported PdAg nanoparticles (PdAg/CNT) with an average particle size of 2.9 nm. A DGFC using a PTFE thin film without any further modification with PdAg/CNT anode catalyst exhibits a peak power density of 214.7 mW cm^–2 at 80 °C, about 22.6% lower than a DGFC using a state-of-the-art AEM. We report a 5.8% decrease and 11.1% decrease in cell voltage for a PTFE thin film and AEM; similarly, the cell voltage degradation rate decreases from 1.2 to 0.8 mV h^–1 for PTFE thin film, while for AEM, it decreases from 9.6 to 3.0 mV h^–1 over an 80 h durability test period. Transmission electron microscopy results indicate that the average particle size of PdAg/CNT increases from 2.9 to 3.7 nm after 80 h discharge; this suggests that PdAg particle growth may be the main reason for the performance drop.

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Research Organization:: Ames Laboratory (AMES), Ames, IA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: CBET-1512126; AC02-07CH11358

OSTI ID:: 1349647

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1416635

Report Number(s):: IS-J-9253; PII: S096014811631076X

Journal Information:: Renewable Energy, Vol. 105, Issue C; ISSN 0960-1481

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 51 works

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30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
direct glycerol fuel cell
polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
thin films
porous separator
anion exchange membrane
biomass renewables

Title: Direct glycerol fuel cell with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) thin film separator

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