The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has developed a new type of h
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2022/07/09 09:40:40
Researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have developed a new hydrogen fuel cell that is the world's most durable to date and is more cost-effective, foreign media reported. Pave the way for the wider use of green energy around the world to become carbon neutral.
Hydrogen fuel cells are a promising clean energy source that can produce zero emissions of air pollutants such as carbon dioxide and particulate matter that can cause smog or health problems by converting hydrogen and oxygen into electricity. Despite their environmental benefits and years of development, hydrogen fuel cells have not yet been widely commercialized. That's because hydrogen fuel cells rely heavily on an electrocatalyst, a material made mostly of the expensive rare metal platinum.
A research team led by Professor Shao Minhua of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at HKUST has found a new formula that not only reduces the proportion of platinum used by 80%, but also sets a record for battery cell durability.
Despite the low platinum content, the new hybrid catalyst developed by the team maintained platinum catalytic activity at 97% after 100,000 accelerated stress test cycles, whereas current catalysts typically degrade by more than 50% after 30,000 cycles. In another test, the new fuel cells showed no performance degradation after 200 hours of operation.
This is because the new catalyst has three different active sites, rather than a single active site in the current catalyst. By using a formula containing atomic dispersion of platinum, iron single atoms and platinum-iron nanoparticles, the new mixture speeds up the reaction and achieves catalytic activity 3.7 times higher than platinum itself. In theory, the higher the catalytic activity, the greater the power provided.
Prof Shao, who is also director of hkUST's Energy Research Institute, said: "Hydrogen fuel cells are an energy conversion device that is crucial to our aspiration to achieve a carbon-neutral world. There is a need to expand its use in the fight against climate change. We are pleased to see that our results have brought this goal one step closer. With the government's Green Tech Fund, we will seek to further improve the catalyst to make it compatible with fuel cell vehicles and other electrochemical devices."
Shenyang East
Eastchem's main products: electron-grade N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT).
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Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) is a new conductive agent for lithium ion batteries. It can reduce the internal resistance of electrodes, improve the circulation at room temperature and high temperature, improve the energy density, and provide excellent conductivity for lithium ion batteries.
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