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Synthetic polymers enable cheap, efficient, durable alkaline fuel cells
http://news.psu.edu/story/283627/2013/08/07/research/synthetic-polymers-enable-cheap-efficient-durable-alkaline-fuel[font face=Serif][font size=5]Synthetic polymers enable cheap, efficient, durable alkaline fuel cells[/font]
By Hannah Y. Cheng
August 7, 2013
[font size=3]UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa -- A new cost-effective polymer membrane can decrease the cost of alkaline batteries and fuel cells by allowing the replacement of expensive platinum catalysts without sacrificing important aspects of performance, according to Penn State researchers.
"We have tried to break this paradigm of tradeoffs in materials (by improving) both the stability and the conductivity of this membrane at the same time, and that is what we were able to do with this unique polymeric materials design," said Michael Hickner, associate professor of materials science and engineering.
…
Hickner's new polymer is a unique anion exchange membrane -- a new type of fuel cell and battery membrane -- that allows the use of much more cost-efficient non-precious metal catalysts and does not compromise either durability or efficiency like previous anion exchange membranes.
…
"We have the fuel cell output -- so we have the fuel cell efficiency, the fuel cell life time -- but we don't have the molecular scale information in the fuel cell," Hickner said. "That's the next step, trying to figure out how these polymers are working in the fuel cell on a detailed level."
…[/font][/font]
By Hannah Y. Cheng
August 7, 2013
[font size=3]UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa -- A new cost-effective polymer membrane can decrease the cost of alkaline batteries and fuel cells by allowing the replacement of expensive platinum catalysts without sacrificing important aspects of performance, according to Penn State researchers.
"We have tried to break this paradigm of tradeoffs in materials (by improving) both the stability and the conductivity of this membrane at the same time, and that is what we were able to do with this unique polymeric materials design," said Michael Hickner, associate professor of materials science and engineering.
…
Hickner's new polymer is a unique anion exchange membrane -- a new type of fuel cell and battery membrane -- that allows the use of much more cost-efficient non-precious metal catalysts and does not compromise either durability or efficiency like previous anion exchange membranes.
…
"We have the fuel cell output -- so we have the fuel cell efficiency, the fuel cell life time -- but we don't have the molecular scale information in the fuel cell," Hickner said. "That's the next step, trying to figure out how these polymers are working in the fuel cell on a detailed level."
…[/font][/font]