- Email: [email protected]
Simon Fraser leading Canadian automotive funded fuel cell project
NEWS space within the nanoparticle sphere at the outset. When the gold atoms diffuse from the space on heating, they create more room for the iron and platinum atoms to assemble themselves. Gold also removes CO from the reaction by catalysing its oxidation, improving the performance of the iron-platinum catalyst. The researchers – led by Shouheng Sun, a chemistry professor at Brown – also highlight the importance of creating an ordered, face-centred-tetragonal crystal structure for the nanoparticle catalyst. The researchers note that other metals may be substituted for gold in the nanoparticle catalyst to improve the catalyst’s performance and durability. ‘This communication presents a new structure-control strategy to tune and optimise nanoparticle catalysis for fuel oxidations,’ the researchers write. Third-year graduate student Sen Zhang helped with the nanoparticle design and synthesis, postdoctoral fellow Shaojun Guo performed electrochemical oxidation experiments, and second-year graduate student Huiyuan Zhu synthesised the FePt nanoparticles and ran control experiments. The other contributing author is Dong Su from the Center for Functional Nanomaterials at Brookhaven National Laboratory, who analysed the structure of the nanoparticle catalyst using BNL’s advanced electron microscopy facilities. The research was funded by the Department of Energy and Exxon Mobil Corporation. Contact: Professor Shouheng Sun, Nanoscale Materials Lab, Department of Chemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA. Tel: +1 401 863 3329, Email: [email protected], Web: www.chem.brown.edu/research/sun Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory: www.bnl.gov/cfn DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ja300708j
NPL develops PEMFC reference electrode to show potential changes
S
cientists at the National Physical Laboratory in the UK have developed an innovative fuel cell reference electrode that has been used to map changes in electrode potential inside a working PEM fuel cell for the first time. A key problem with PEM fuel cell durability is corrosion. This is particularly severe when the fuel cell is turned on or off, and is caused by changes in electrode potential at the cathode, associated with the movement of the air/ fuel boundary as hydrogen flows into or out 10
Fuel Cells Bulletin
from the anode. With repeated startup and shutdown of the fuel cell, corrosion of the high-surface-area carbon material on which the platinum catalyst is supported causes a gradual decrease in available catalyst surface area, and consequently reduced performance. NPL researchers have recently reported in a paper in Electrochemistry Communications how they used the novel reference electrodes to measure the variation in electrode potential across the active area of a 50 cm2 fuel cell supplied by Johnson Matthey. What makes the new reference electrodes special is the way that they connect to the fuel cell. Conventional reference electrodes are connected at the sides of the cell, meaning that they can only really measure what is going on around the edges. However, the NPL reference electrode connects through holes drilled into the end plates, allowing a measurement of potential to be made at numerous points along the cell anode or cathode. The electrodes are numbered with respect to the flow of hydrogen through the cell, and measurements are taken at each point during operation. The movement of the air/ fuel boundary through the cell can be detected by spikes in electrode potential, and this can be mapped from the measurements taken by the electrodes. From these data, researchers can determine where and when corrosion is most likely to take place – and can therefore investigate better ways to reduce it. ‘We are confident that this technique can be successfully applied to a wide range of fuel cell performance and durability issues, enhancing fundamental understanding of the underlying mechanisms and facilitating significant improvements in fuel cell design,’ says NPL’s Dr Gareth Hinds, who led the project. This technique will provide fuel cell researchers and manufacturers with a powerful new diagnostic tool in the drive towards improved fuel cell performance and durability. The research was funded through the National Measurement System. Contact: Dr Gareth Hinds, Electrochemistry, National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, Middlesex, UK. Tel: +44 20 8943 7147, Email: [email protected] NPL, Fuel Cells: http://ow.ly/ao3Lb DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.elecom.2012.01.007 Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells: www.jmfuelcells.com
Simon Fraser leading Canadian automotive funded fuel cell project
S
ix new projects have been announced that are being supported by the Automotive Partnership Canada
initiative. The projects will advance research and development in Canada’s automotive industry by supporting new technologies that provide lighter material alternatives for cars and significantly enhance battery efficiency for vehicles, alongside a project on nextgeneration, low-platinum PEM fuel cells. These university-industry partnerships will receive almost C$34 million (US$34 million) in total project support. This includes just under C$19 million in funding through Automotive Partnership Canada, and nearly C$15 million from industry and other partners. These partnerships will be supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), and National Research Council Canada (NRC). Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC is awarded C$5.5 million (through NSERC and NRC) to work on a new generation of fuel cells that hold great potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. For this project, 17 scientists and engineers from nine universities across Canada will work on reducing production costs. The project is led by SFU’s Professor Steven Holdcroft – who is jointly affiliated with the NRC Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation – partnering with Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation, Ballard Power Systems, BIC (through Angstrom Power), General Motors of Canada, Hydrogenics, and Hyteon. The partnership will explore alternative nonplatinum metals and the fabrication of advanced layer structures. ‘If we can develop a deeper understanding of the processes that are occurring in PEM fuel cells, we will be able to tweak existing fuel cell components to obtain higher power density, as well as improve durability, which lowers the overall cost,’ says Holdcroft. Announced by the Canadian government in April 2009, Automotive Partnership Canada is a five-year, C$145 million industry-driven initiative that supports collaborative R&D and pushes the Canadian automotive industry to greater levels of innovation. Automotive Partnership Canada is already funding a project involving Ballard Power Systems and researchers at Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria, to drive down the cost of fuel cells for bus propulsion, and improving their durability and reliability [FCB, September 2011, p3]. Contact: Professor Dr Steven Holdcroft, Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada. Tel: +1 778 782 4221, Email: [email protected], Web: www.holdcroftgroup.ca or www.chemistry.sfu.ca Automotive Partnership Canada: www.apc-pac.ca
April 2012
NPL develops PEMFC reference electrode to show potential changes
S
cientists at the National Physical Laboratory in the UK have developed an innovative fuel cell reference electrode that has been used to map changes in electrode potential inside a working PEM fuel cell for the first time. A key problem with PEM fuel cell durability is corrosion. This is particularly severe when the fuel cell is turned on or off, and is caused by changes in electrode potential at the cathode, associated with the movement of the air/ fuel boundary as hydrogen flows into or out 10
Fuel Cells Bulletin
from the anode. With repeated startup and shutdown of the fuel cell, corrosion of the high-surface-area carbon material on which the platinum catalyst is supported causes a gradual decrease in available catalyst surface area, and consequently reduced performance. NPL researchers have recently reported in a paper in Electrochemistry Communications how they used the novel reference electrodes to measure the variation in electrode potential across the active area of a 50 cm2 fuel cell supplied by Johnson Matthey. What makes the new reference electrodes special is the way that they connect to the fuel cell. Conventional reference electrodes are connected at the sides of the cell, meaning that they can only really measure what is going on around the edges. However, the NPL reference electrode connects through holes drilled into the end plates, allowing a measurement of potential to be made at numerous points along the cell anode or cathode. The electrodes are numbered with respect to the flow of hydrogen through the cell, and measurements are taken at each point during operation. The movement of the air/ fuel boundary through the cell can be detected by spikes in electrode potential, and this can be mapped from the measurements taken by the electrodes. From these data, researchers can determine where and when corrosion is most likely to take place – and can therefore investigate better ways to reduce it. ‘We are confident that this technique can be successfully applied to a wide range of fuel cell performance and durability issues, enhancing fundamental understanding of the underlying mechanisms and facilitating significant improvements in fuel cell design,’ says NPL’s Dr Gareth Hinds, who led the project. This technique will provide fuel cell researchers and manufacturers with a powerful new diagnostic tool in the drive towards improved fuel cell performance and durability. The research was funded through the National Measurement System. Contact: Dr Gareth Hinds, Electrochemistry, National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, Middlesex, UK. Tel: +44 20 8943 7147, Email: [email protected] NPL, Fuel Cells: http://ow.ly/ao3Lb DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.elecom.2012.01.007 Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells: www.jmfuelcells.com
Simon Fraser leading Canadian automotive funded fuel cell project
S
ix new projects have been announced that are being supported by the Automotive Partnership Canada
initiative. The projects will advance research and development in Canada’s automotive industry by supporting new technologies that provide lighter material alternatives for cars and significantly enhance battery efficiency for vehicles, alongside a project on nextgeneration, low-platinum PEM fuel cells. These university-industry partnerships will receive almost C$34 million (US$34 million) in total project support. This includes just under C$19 million in funding through Automotive Partnership Canada, and nearly C$15 million from industry and other partners. These partnerships will be supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), and National Research Council Canada (NRC). Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC is awarded C$5.5 million (through NSERC and NRC) to work on a new generation of fuel cells that hold great potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. For this project, 17 scientists and engineers from nine universities across Canada will work on reducing production costs. The project is led by SFU’s Professor Steven Holdcroft – who is jointly affiliated with the NRC Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation – partnering with Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation, Ballard Power Systems, BIC (through Angstrom Power), General Motors of Canada, Hydrogenics, and Hyteon. The partnership will explore alternative nonplatinum metals and the fabrication of advanced layer structures. ‘If we can develop a deeper understanding of the processes that are occurring in PEM fuel cells, we will be able to tweak existing fuel cell components to obtain higher power density, as well as improve durability, which lowers the overall cost,’ says Holdcroft. Announced by the Canadian government in April 2009, Automotive Partnership Canada is a five-year, C$145 million industry-driven initiative that supports collaborative R&D and pushes the Canadian automotive industry to greater levels of innovation. Automotive Partnership Canada is already funding a project involving Ballard Power Systems and researchers at Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria, to drive down the cost of fuel cells for bus propulsion, and improving their durability and reliability [FCB, September 2011, p3]. Contact: Professor Dr Steven Holdcroft, Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada. Tel: +1 778 782 4221, Email: [email protected], Web: www.holdcroftgroup.ca or www.chemistry.sfu.ca Automotive Partnership Canada: www.apc-pac.ca
April 2012