Direct formic acid fuel cells

The performance of formic acid fuel oxidation on a solid PEM fuel cell at 60 °C is reported. We find that formic acid is an excellent fuel for a fuel cell. A model cell, using a proprietary anode catalyst produced currents up to 134 mA/cm 2 and power outputs up to 48.8 mW/cm 2. Open circuit potentia...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of power sources 2002-09, Vol.111 (1), p.83-89
Main Authors: Rice, C., Ha, S., Masel, R.I., Waszczuk, P., Wieckowski, A., Barnard, Tom
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Energy
Energy. Thermal use of fuels
Equipments for energy generation and conversion: thermal, electrical, mechanical energy, etc
Exact sciences and technology
Formic acid
Fuel cells
Micro powergeneration
Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells
Portable power
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Summary:The performance of formic acid fuel oxidation on a solid PEM fuel cell at 60 °C is reported. We find that formic acid is an excellent fuel for a fuel cell. A model cell, using a proprietary anode catalyst produced currents up to 134 mA/cm 2 and power outputs up to 48.8 mW/cm 2. Open circuit potentials (OCPs) are about 0.72 V. The fuel cell runs successfully over formic acid concentrations between 5 and 20 M with little crossover or degradation in performance. The anodic polarization potential of formic acid is approximately 0.1 V lower than that for methanol on a standard Pt/Ru catalyst. These results show that formic acid fuel cells are attractive alternatives for small portable fuel cell applications.
ISSN:0378-7753
1873-2755
DOI:10.1016/S0378-7753(02)00271-9