A Redox Fuel Cell That Operates with Methane as Fuel at 120°C

Platinum black efficiently catalyzes the oxidation of methane by iron(III) to generate carbon dioxide and eight equivalents of iron(II) in solutions of sulfuric acid in water. The rate of oxidation increases over 4 hours to reach ∼4.83 × 10$^{-2}$ moles of iron(II) per gram atom of surface platinum...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1994-09, Vol.265 (5177), p.1418-1420
Main Authors: Bergens, Steven H., Gorman, Christopher B., G. Tayhas R. Palmore, Whitesides, George M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anodes
Applied sciences
Cathodes
Electrochemical cells
Electrodes
Electrolytes
Electrolytic cells
Energy
Energy. Thermal use of fuels
Equipments for energy generation and conversion: thermal, electrical, mechanical energy, etc
Exact sciences and technology
Fuel cells
Graphite
Methane
Oxidation
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Summary:Platinum black efficiently catalyzes the oxidation of methane by iron(III) to generate carbon dioxide and eight equivalents of iron(II) in solutions of sulfuric acid in water. The rate of oxidation increases over 4 hours to reach ∼4.83 × 10$^{-2}$ moles of iron(II) per gram atom of surface platinum per second. A redox fuel cell was assembled that used this reaction in a liquid reformer to generate soluble reducing equivalents of iron(II) from methane, which was electrochemically oxidized to iron(III) in the cell. A vanadium(V)-(IV)-nitric acid-O$_2$ redox system catalyzed the electrochemical reduction of O$_2$. The open-circuit voltage of the cell was 0.48 volt, and the maximum power output of the cell was 8.1 milliwatts per cubic centimeter of graphite felt electrode.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.265.5177.1418