Nanocrystals - the key to hydrogen fuel cells?
A group of scientists from the University of California conducted a study whose data confirm the possibility of using zirconium crystals to improve reliability and reduce the cost of hydrogen fuel cells.
Existing technologies involve the oxidation of hydrogen fuel in fuel cells with oxygen. The result is the release of energy and waste in the form of H2O. This kind of fuel cells are promising, but they have to face many difficulties in their creation. First, the cost of achieving a temperature at which hydrogen fuel cells work (and this is 800–1000 ° C) is by no means small. And, secondly, the catalyst used in most structures - platinum - is also far from a penny.
According to the American researchers, the new technology will reduce the temperature by 10 times to 50-100 ° C. This can be achieved using the method of forming microscopic zirconium oxide crystals with a size of about 15 nm, consisting of only a few atoms of matter. The use of such material in fuel cells has become possible because of the good electrical conductivity (due to the mobility of protons) of crystals of this size.
It is too early to speak about the prospects for the commercial use of nanocrystals in hydrogen fuel cells. But the technology team has already filed a patent application.
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via physorg
Existing technologies involve the oxidation of hydrogen fuel in fuel cells with oxygen. The result is the release of energy and waste in the form of H2O. This kind of fuel cells are promising, but they have to face many difficulties in their creation. First, the cost of achieving a temperature at which hydrogen fuel cells work (and this is 800–1000 ° C) is by no means small. And, secondly, the catalyst used in most structures - platinum - is also far from a penny.
According to the American researchers, the new technology will reduce the temperature by 10 times to 50-100 ° C. This can be achieved using the method of forming microscopic zirconium oxide crystals with a size of about 15 nm, consisting of only a few atoms of matter. The use of such material in fuel cells has become possible because of the good electrical conductivity (due to the mobility of protons) of crystals of this size.
It is too early to speak about the prospects for the commercial use of nanocrystals in hydrogen fuel cells. But the technology team has already filed a patent application.
')
via physorg
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/12161/
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