Hydrogen fuel cells are a promising clean energy alternative as they effectively produce power by transforming hydrogen and oxygen into electricity, with zero emission of carbon dioxide, particulate matter, and other air contaminants that might cause smog and other health issues. Hydrogen fuel cells have yet to be commonly advertised, regardless of their environmental benefits and years of advancement. In another test, the brand-new fuel cell did not show any efficiency decay after running for 200 hours. Prof. Shao, likewise the Director of HKUST Energy Institute, stated, “Hydrogen fuel cell is an energy conversion gadget vital for our goal of attaining a carbon neutral world, there is a need to expand its usage in the middle of our battle versus environment modification. Thanks to the Governments Green Tech Fund, we will look for to further refine the driver and make it compatible with fuel cell cars and other electrochemical gadgets.”
Reference: “Atomically dispersed Pt and Fe sites and Pt– Fe nanoparticles for resilient proton exchange membrane fuel cells” by Fei Xiao, Qi Wang, Gui-Liang Xu, Xueping Qin, Inhui Hwang, Cheng-Jun Sun, Min Liu, Wei Hua, Hsi-wen Wu, Shangqian Zhu, Jin-Cheng Li, Jian-Gan Wang, Yuanmin Zhu, Duojie Wu, Zidong Wei, Meng Gu, Khalil Amine and Minhua Shao, 2 June 2022, Nature Catalysis.DOI: 10.1038/ s41929-022-00796-1.
Funding: National Key Research and Development Program of China, Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Committee, the Research Grant Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Innovation and Technology Commission of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Foshan-HKUST Project, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Shenzhen Natural Science Fund.
A brand-new hydrogen fuel cell is not only the worlds most durable [1] to date, but is also more economical, paving the way for a wider application of green energy in the pursuit of a carbon-neutral world.A new hydrogen fuel cell has actually been developed by scientists at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). Not only is it the worlds most long lasting [1] to date, however it is also more economical, leading the way for a wider application of green energy in the pursuit of a carbon-neutral world. Hydrogen fuel cells are an appealing tidy energy choice as they effectively produce power by transforming hydrogen and oxygen into electrical power, with zero emission of carbon dioxide, particulate matter, and other air contaminants that may cause smog and other illness. Hydrogen fuel cells have yet to be commonly commercialized, regardless of their ecological advantages and years of advancement. Because its power generation depends heavily on an electrocatalyst– which is mainly comprised of the very pricey and unusual metal platinum, that is.
Scientists have aimed to establish options by changing platinum with more low-cost and typical materials like iron-nitrogen-carbon. However, those products have actually either proven inefficient in power generation or have struggled with bad toughness.
According to the test procedures of United States Department of Energy in evaluating the toughness of fuel cell.
One cycle is comparable to 3 seconds with voltage level at 0.6 V, followed by another 3 seconds with voltage level at 0.9 V.
The voltage level is set at 0.6 V.
( Left) The new hybrid driver preserves the platinum catalytic activity at 97% after 100,000 cycles of accelerated tension test; (Right) The new electrocatalyst includes atomically dispersed platinum, iron platinum-iron nanoparticles and single atoms. Credit: HKUST
Now, a research study group led by Prof. Minhua Shao from the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at HKUST, found a new formula. It not just reduces the percentage of platinum used by 80 percent, however it likewise set a record in terms of the cells sturdiness level.
Teacher Minhua Shao from HKUSTs Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and the Director of HKUST Energy Institute holds the model of the new hydrogen fuel cell. Credit: HKUST
In another test, the brand-new fuel cell did not show any performance decay after running for 200 hours. 3]
One factor behind such exceptional efficiency was the reality that the new driver has three various active websites for the response, instead of simply one in present catalysts. Using a formula including atomically dispersed platinum, iron single atoms, and platinum-iron nanoparticles, the new mix speeds up the response rate and accomplishes a catalytic activity 3.7 times greater than the platinum itself. In theory, the greater the catalytic activity, the greater the power it delivers.
Prof. Shao, also the Director of HKUST Energy Institute, said, “Hydrogen fuel cell is an energy conversion gadget important for our aspiration of accomplishing a carbon neutral world, there is a requirement to expand its use in the middle of our battle versus climate modification. We are pleased to see our research findings bringing this goal an action more detailed. Thanks to the Governments Green Tech Fund, we will seek to further improve the catalyst and make it compatible with fuel cell cars and other electrochemical gadgets.”
The study was financially supported by the National Key R&D Program of China, Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Committee, and the Research Grant Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The research findings were recently released in the journal Nature Catalysis.
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