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New class of fuel cells offer increased flexibility, lower cost
(Please note, Los Alamos National Laboratory—copyright concerns are nil.)
http://www.lanl.gov/discover/news-release-archive/2016/August/08.23-new-class-of-fuel-cells.php
[font face=Serif][font size=5]New class of fuel cells offer increased flexibility, lower cost[/font]
[font size=4]A new class of fuel cells based on a newly discovered polymer-based material could bridge the gap between the operating temperature ranges of two existing types of polymer fuel cells.[/font]
August 23, 2016
[font size=4]Wider temperature tolerance is based on ion-pair-coordinated polymers[/font]
[font size=3]LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Aug. 23, 2016—A new class of fuel cells based on a newly discovered polymer-based material could bridge the gap between the operating temperature ranges of two existing types of polymer fuel cells, a breakthrough with the potential to accelerate the commercialization of low-cost fuel cells for automotive and stationary applications.
A Los Alamos National Laboratory team, in collaboration with Yoong-Kee Choe at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan and Cy Fujimoto of Sandia National Laboratories, has discovered that fuel cells made from phosphate-quaternary ammonium ion-pair can be operated between 80°C and 200°C with and without water, enhancing the fuel cells usability in a range of conditions. The research is published in the journal Nature Energy.
“Polymer-based fuel cells are regarded as the key technology of the future for both vehicle and stationary energy systems,” said Yu Seung Kim, the project leader at Los Alamos. “There’s a huge benefit to running fuel cells at the widest possible operating temperature with water tolerance. But current fuel-cell vehicles need humidified inlet streams and large radiators to dissipate waste heat, which can increase the fuel-cell system cost substantially, so people have looked for materials that can conduct protons under flexible operating conditions. It is very exciting that we have now found such materials.”
Los Alamos has been a leader in fuel-cell research since the 1970s. Fuel cell technologies can significantly benefit the nation’s energy security, the environment and economy through reduced oil consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and air pollution. The current research work supports the Laboratory’s missions related to energy security and materials for the future.
Currently, two main classes of polymer-based fuel cells exist. One is the class of low-temperature fuel cells that require water for proton conduction and cannot operate above 100°C. The other type is high-temperature fuel cells that can operate up to 180°C without water; however, the performance degrades under water-absorbing conditions below 140°C.
The research team found that a phosphate-quaternary ammonium ion-pair has much stronger interaction, which allows the transport of protons effectively even under water-condensing conditions.
“The discovery happened when we were investigating alkaline hydroxide conducting membranes, which have quaternary ammonium groups,” said Kim. “While the alkaline membranes work only under high pH conditions, the idea came across that alkaline membranes can be used under low pH conditions by combining with phosphoric acid” said Kim. “This was a breathtaking moment, when Choe brought the calculation data that showed the interaction between quaternary ammonium and biphosphate is 8.7 times stronger than conventional acid-base interaction.”
The Los Alamos team collaborated with Fujimoto at Sandia to prepare quaternary ammonium functionalized polymers. The prototype fuel cells made from the ion-pair-coordinated membrane demonstrated excellent fuel-cell performance and durability at 80-200°C, which is unattainable with existing fuel cell technology.
What’s next? “The performance and durability of this new class of fuel cells could even be further improved by high-performing electrode materials,” said Kim, citing an advance expected within five to ten years that is another critical step to replace current low-temperature fuel cells used in vehicle and stationary applications.
Researchers on this project include Kwan-Soo Lee (Los Alamos National Laboratory, Chemistry Division), Jacob Spendelow, Yu Seung Kim (Los Alamos National Laboratory, Materials Physics and Applications Division), Yoong-Kee Choe (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science & Technology, Japan), and Cy Fujimoto (Sandia National Laboratories).
Funding: US DOE EERE Fuel Cell Technology Office
Reference: “An operationally flexible fuel cell based on quaternary ammonium-biphosphate ion pairs” Nature Energy | DOI:10.1038/NENERGY.2016.120. Los Alamos authors: Kwan-Soo Lee, Jacob Spendelow, Yu Seung Kim, with collaborators from Sandia National Laboratory and National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science & Technology, Japan.
…[/font][/font]
[font size=4]A new class of fuel cells based on a newly discovered polymer-based material could bridge the gap between the operating temperature ranges of two existing types of polymer fuel cells.[/font]
August 23, 2016
[font size=4]Wider temperature tolerance is based on ion-pair-coordinated polymers[/font]
[font size=3]LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Aug. 23, 2016—A new class of fuel cells based on a newly discovered polymer-based material could bridge the gap between the operating temperature ranges of two existing types of polymer fuel cells, a breakthrough with the potential to accelerate the commercialization of low-cost fuel cells for automotive and stationary applications.
A Los Alamos National Laboratory team, in collaboration with Yoong-Kee Choe at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan and Cy Fujimoto of Sandia National Laboratories, has discovered that fuel cells made from phosphate-quaternary ammonium ion-pair can be operated between 80°C and 200°C with and without water, enhancing the fuel cells usability in a range of conditions. The research is published in the journal Nature Energy.
“Polymer-based fuel cells are regarded as the key technology of the future for both vehicle and stationary energy systems,” said Yu Seung Kim, the project leader at Los Alamos. “There’s a huge benefit to running fuel cells at the widest possible operating temperature with water tolerance. But current fuel-cell vehicles need humidified inlet streams and large radiators to dissipate waste heat, which can increase the fuel-cell system cost substantially, so people have looked for materials that can conduct protons under flexible operating conditions. It is very exciting that we have now found such materials.”
Los Alamos has been a leader in fuel-cell research since the 1970s. Fuel cell technologies can significantly benefit the nation’s energy security, the environment and economy through reduced oil consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and air pollution. The current research work supports the Laboratory’s missions related to energy security and materials for the future.
Currently, two main classes of polymer-based fuel cells exist. One is the class of low-temperature fuel cells that require water for proton conduction and cannot operate above 100°C. The other type is high-temperature fuel cells that can operate up to 180°C without water; however, the performance degrades under water-absorbing conditions below 140°C.
The research team found that a phosphate-quaternary ammonium ion-pair has much stronger interaction, which allows the transport of protons effectively even under water-condensing conditions.
“The discovery happened when we were investigating alkaline hydroxide conducting membranes, which have quaternary ammonium groups,” said Kim. “While the alkaline membranes work only under high pH conditions, the idea came across that alkaline membranes can be used under low pH conditions by combining with phosphoric acid” said Kim. “This was a breathtaking moment, when Choe brought the calculation data that showed the interaction between quaternary ammonium and biphosphate is 8.7 times stronger than conventional acid-base interaction.”
The Los Alamos team collaborated with Fujimoto at Sandia to prepare quaternary ammonium functionalized polymers. The prototype fuel cells made from the ion-pair-coordinated membrane demonstrated excellent fuel-cell performance and durability at 80-200°C, which is unattainable with existing fuel cell technology.
What’s next? “The performance and durability of this new class of fuel cells could even be further improved by high-performing electrode materials,” said Kim, citing an advance expected within five to ten years that is another critical step to replace current low-temperature fuel cells used in vehicle and stationary applications.
Researchers on this project include Kwan-Soo Lee (Los Alamos National Laboratory, Chemistry Division), Jacob Spendelow, Yu Seung Kim (Los Alamos National Laboratory, Materials Physics and Applications Division), Yoong-Kee Choe (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science & Technology, Japan), and Cy Fujimoto (Sandia National Laboratories).
Funding: US DOE EERE Fuel Cell Technology Office
Reference: “An operationally flexible fuel cell based on quaternary ammonium-biphosphate ion pairs” Nature Energy | DOI:10.1038/NENERGY.2016.120. Los Alamos authors: Kwan-Soo Lee, Jacob Spendelow, Yu Seung Kim, with collaborators from Sandia National Laboratory and National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science & Technology, Japan.
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(Please note, Sandia National Laboratories—copyright concerns are nil.)
https://share.sandia.gov/news/resources/news_releases/fuel_cell_membrane/
[font face=Serif]September 7, 2016
[font size=5]Fuel cell membrane patented by Sandia outperforms market[/font]
[font size=4]‘Goldilocks’ membrane is just about right[/font]
Sandia National Laboratories researchers Cy Fujimoto, right, and Michael Hibbs demonstrate the clarity of their recent membranes. (Photo by Randy Montoya)
[font size=3]ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Fuel cells provide power without pollutants. But, as in the Goldilocks story, membranes in automobile fuel cells work at temperatures either too hot or too cold to be maximally effective. A polyphenyline membrane patented by Sandia National Laboratories, though, seems to work just about right, says Sandia chemist Cy Fujimoto.
The membrane, which operates over a wide temperature range, lasts three times longer than comparable commercial products, Fujimoto and his co-authors say in the Aug. 21 issue of Nature Energy.
Fuel-cell PEMs (proton-exchange membranes) allow the excretion of protons — the husk, in a sense — of the material providing the electrons that form the fuel cell’s electrical output. If the protons can’t pass easily within the cell, the fettered flow reduces the electrical output.
Currently commercial PEMs in most fuel-cell-powered vehicles require water, so their operating temperature can’t get higher than water’s boiling point. Higher temperatures dry out the membrane, increase cell resistance and reduce performance, said Fujimoto.
“Part of the issues with the current PEMs is that you need to hydrate the hydrogen fuel stream for high performance, and the fuel cell can’t run effectively at temperatures higher than the boiling point of water,” he said.
“This problem can be solved by employing hydrated fuel streams and having a larger radiator to more effectively dissipate waste heat,” Fujimoto continued. “Automakers are doing this now. But if PEM fuel cells didn’t need water to run, it would make things a lot simpler.”
Another problem is that material costs for the current membrane of choice can be approximately $250-$500 per square meter. “The DOE [Department of Energy] would like to see $5 to $20 a square meter,” Fujimoto said.
Researchers have tried to solve these problems with a high-temperature method that uses phosphoric acid to dope a polybenzimidazole membrane at more than 350 degrees Fahrenheit. But the membrane can’t operate below 284 degrees without degrading the phosphoric acid. Thus the membrane is unsuitable for automotive applications, where water condensation from cold engine start-ups and other normal reactions at the fuel cell cathode unavoidably bring the temperature down into undesirable ranges that leach the phosphoric acid out of the reaction.
Now comes the first ammonium ion-pair fuel cell — created at Los Alamos National Laboratory — to combine phosphates with the Sandia-patented membrane. The ammonium-biphosphate ion pairs have exhibited stable performance over a wide range of temperatures from 176-320 degrees F, responded well to changes in humidity and lasted three times longer than most commercial PEM fuel cell membranes.
“There probably will be industrial interest in this discovery,” Fujimoto said. “Our polymer contains a tethered positive charge which interacts more strongly with phosphoric acid, which improves acid retention. Heating the fuel cell and adding humidity doesn’t reduce performance.”
The fuel cell work was supported by the Fuel Cell Technology Office of the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[hr]
Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corp., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. With main facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national security, energy and environmental technologies and economic competitiveness.
Sandia news media contact: Neal Singer, nsinger@sandia.gov, (505) 845-7978[/font][/font]
[font size=5]Fuel cell membrane patented by Sandia outperforms market[/font]
[font size=4]‘Goldilocks’ membrane is just about right[/font]
Sandia National Laboratories researchers Cy Fujimoto, right, and Michael Hibbs demonstrate the clarity of their recent membranes. (Photo by Randy Montoya)
[font size=3]ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Fuel cells provide power without pollutants. But, as in the Goldilocks story, membranes in automobile fuel cells work at temperatures either too hot or too cold to be maximally effective. A polyphenyline membrane patented by Sandia National Laboratories, though, seems to work just about right, says Sandia chemist Cy Fujimoto.
The membrane, which operates over a wide temperature range, lasts three times longer than comparable commercial products, Fujimoto and his co-authors say in the Aug. 21 issue of Nature Energy.
Fuel-cell PEMs (proton-exchange membranes) allow the excretion of protons — the husk, in a sense — of the material providing the electrons that form the fuel cell’s electrical output. If the protons can’t pass easily within the cell, the fettered flow reduces the electrical output.
Currently commercial PEMs in most fuel-cell-powered vehicles require water, so their operating temperature can’t get higher than water’s boiling point. Higher temperatures dry out the membrane, increase cell resistance and reduce performance, said Fujimoto.
“Part of the issues with the current PEMs is that you need to hydrate the hydrogen fuel stream for high performance, and the fuel cell can’t run effectively at temperatures higher than the boiling point of water,” he said.
“This problem can be solved by employing hydrated fuel streams and having a larger radiator to more effectively dissipate waste heat,” Fujimoto continued. “Automakers are doing this now. But if PEM fuel cells didn’t need water to run, it would make things a lot simpler.”
Another problem is that material costs for the current membrane of choice can be approximately $250-$500 per square meter. “The DOE [Department of Energy] would like to see $5 to $20 a square meter,” Fujimoto said.
Researchers have tried to solve these problems with a high-temperature method that uses phosphoric acid to dope a polybenzimidazole membrane at more than 350 degrees Fahrenheit. But the membrane can’t operate below 284 degrees without degrading the phosphoric acid. Thus the membrane is unsuitable for automotive applications, where water condensation from cold engine start-ups and other normal reactions at the fuel cell cathode unavoidably bring the temperature down into undesirable ranges that leach the phosphoric acid out of the reaction.
Now comes the first ammonium ion-pair fuel cell — created at Los Alamos National Laboratory — to combine phosphates with the Sandia-patented membrane. The ammonium-biphosphate ion pairs have exhibited stable performance over a wide range of temperatures from 176-320 degrees F, responded well to changes in humidity and lasted three times longer than most commercial PEM fuel cell membranes.
“There probably will be industrial interest in this discovery,” Fujimoto said. “Our polymer contains a tethered positive charge which interacts more strongly with phosphoric acid, which improves acid retention. Heating the fuel cell and adding humidity doesn’t reduce performance.”
The fuel cell work was supported by the Fuel Cell Technology Office of the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[hr]
Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corp., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. With main facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national security, energy and environmental technologies and economic competitiveness.
Sandia news media contact: Neal Singer, nsinger@sandia.gov, (505) 845-7978[/font][/font]
