Developments in direct borohydride fuel cells and remaining challenges

Merino-Jiménez, Irene; León, Carlos Ponce de; Shah, Akeel A.; Walsh, Frank C.

doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2012.06.091

Cited by 173 publications

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“…Among various alcohols, most importantly methanol, borohydride proves to be an interesting and promising fuel candidate for DLFCs. [1][2][3] As a result the number of publications concerning borohydride as hydrogen storage compound and direct borohydride fuel cells (DBFCs) is strongly increasing in the last decade. 4 Borohydride which is usually applied in the form of sodium borohydride NaBH 4 is a white crystalline solid which exhibits a theoretical energy density of 9.3 Wh g −1 .…”

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“…6 In combination with an oxygen electrode the theoretical cell voltage is 1.64 V (see Reaction 3). BH 4 − + 2O 2 → BO 2 − + 2H 2 O E 0 = 1.64 V [3] Due to fuel crossover with any kind of alkaline electrolytes most publications dealing with DBFCs report the usage of cation exchange membranes. 7 In this arrangement sodium acts as charge carrier and is conducted from the anode to the cathode side.…”

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Carbon Supported Nanocrystalline Manganese Oxide: Surpassing Platinum as Oxygen Reduction Catalyst in Direct Borohydride Fuel Cells

Grimmer

Grandi

Zacharias

et al. 2016

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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Manganese oxide (MnO 2 ) nanodispersed on high surface area carbon was tested as cathode catalyst for direct borohydride fuel cells with an anion conducting membrane. In order to investigate the effects of borohydride crossover, ex-situ experiments toward oxygen reduction reaction were conducted employing rotating disk electrodes in presence of borohydride and thiourea. Although platinum showed superior catalytic properties at ideal conditions, manganese oxide outperformed platinum significantly in presence of borohydride. Direct borohydride fuel cell tests were conducted using Pt/C-based and MnO 2 /C-based. After one hour of operation at 0.40 V the platinum based membrane electrode assembly lost approx. 30% of its initial peak power density while the non-precious metal MEA showed constant performance. The peak power density of the single test cell with a Pt/C based anode, an anion exchange membrane and a MnO 2 /C based cathode was 38 mW cm Direct liquid fuel cells (DLFC) offer certain advantages compared to hydrogen based fuel cell systems. Liquid fuels are generally easier to store and safer in handling than pressurized gases. Furthermore, the adaptation of the existing fossil based fuel involves considerably lower investment costs. Among various alcohols, most importantly methanol, borohydride proves to be an interesting and promising fuel candidate for DLFCs.1-3 As a result the number of publications concerning borohydride as hydrogen storage compound and direct borohydride fuel cells (DBFCs) is strongly increasing in the last decade. 4 Borohydride which is usually applied in the form of sodium borohydride NaBH 4 is a white crystalline solid which exhibits a theoretical energy density of 9.3 Wh g −1 . 5The electrooxidation of BH 4 − (shown in Reaction 1) releases eight electrons at a very low theoretical potential. 6 In combination with an oxygen electrode the theoretical cell voltage is 1.64 V (see Reaction 3).Due to fuel crossover with any kind of alkaline electrolytes most publications dealing with DBFCs report the usage of cation exchange membranes.7 In this arrangement sodium acts as charge carrier and is conducted from the anode to the cathode side. The main issue of using cation exchange membranes is the formation of NaOH at the cathode and the undesirable concentration ratio [OH − ]/[BH 4 − ] with a minimum of eight in the fuel.To overcome this major drawback there are in principle two approaches. First, the establishment of hydroxide permeable membranes those are impermeable for borohydride or second, the development of cathode catalysts that show high catalytic selectivity toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and high tolerance toward borohydride.State-of-the-art catalysts for DBFCs are platinum and gold at the anode and platinum at the cathode. 7,8 Platinum is still the cathode * Electrochemical Society Member. z E-mail: christoph.grimmer@tugraz.at catalyst of choice due to its high ORR activity and sufficient longterm stability.9 However, the usage of platinum at the cathode side harbors si...

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Carbon Supported Nanocrystalline Manganese Oxide: Surpassing Platinum as Oxygen Reduction Catalyst in Direct Borohydride Fuel Cells

Grimmer

Grandi

Zacharias

et al. 2016

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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“…These include the lack of a selective catalyst with high activity for direct borohydride oxidation, a reliable anionic membrane, the instability of borohydride and avoidance of its hydrolysis. These aspects limit the fuel cell efficiency to less than 30% [1,2] of the theoretical available energy.…”

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“…However, a parallel hydrolysis Reaction (2) decreases the overall number of electrons released per borohydride molecule to less than 8, decreasing the power density and producing hydrogen gas in the anolyte: BH À 4;aq þ 2H 2 O aq /BO À 2;aq þ 4H 2 (2) Although the hydrogen produced could be oxidized, the overall energy output will be lower. Hydrogen bubbles can also block the electrode surface and should be minimized to avoid safety issues.…”

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Pd–Ir alloy as an anode material for borohydride oxidation

Merino-Jiménez

Janik

León

et al. 2014

Journal of Power Sources

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Hydrides

Wietelmann

Felderhoff

Rittmeyer

2016

Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry

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The article contains sections titled: 1. Introduction 2. Hydrides of the Alkali and Alkaline Earth Metals 2.1. General 2.2. Lithium Hydride 2.3. Sodium Hydride 2.4. Potassium Hydride 2.5. Beryllium Hydride 2.6. Magnesium Hydride 2.7. Calcium Hydride 3. Binary and Complex Hydrides of the Boron Group 3.1. General 3.2. Lithium Tetrahydridoborate 3.3. Lithium Triethylhydridoborate 3.3. Lithium Tri-sec-butylhydridoborate 3.4. Sodium Tetrahydridoborate 3.5. Sodium Cyanotrihydridoborate 3.6. Potassium Tetrahydridoborate 3.7. Aluminum Hydride 3.8. Lithium Tetrahydridoaluminate 3.9. Lithium (tri-tert-butoxy)hydrido-aluminate 3.10. Sodium Tetrahydridoaluminate 3.11. Sodium bis(2-methoxyethoxy)dihydridoaluminate 3.12. Diisobutylaluminum Hydride 4. Hydrides of the Transition Metals 4.1. Binary Hydrides 4.1.1. Titanium Hydride 4.1.2. Zirconium Hydride 4.2. Intermetallic Hydrides 4.3. Complex Hydrides of Transition Metals 4.3.1. Di(η5-cyclopentadienyl)chlorohydridozirconium(IV) 4.3.2. Carbonylhydrido-tris(triphenylphosphine)rhodium(I) 5. Use of complex hydrides for organic synthesis 5.1. Overview 5.2. Chemoselective Reductions 5.3. Enantioselective Reductions 6. Use of metal hydrides for energy storage 6.1. Hydrogen Storage 6.1.1. Reversible Hydrogen storage 6.1.2. Non-reversible Hydrogen storage 6.2. Thermochemical applications 6.3. Battery applications 7. Handling, Storage, and Transportation 8. Toxicology and Occupational Healt

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Developments in direct borohydride fuel cells and remaining challenges

Cited by 173 publications

References 101 publications

Carbon Supported Nanocrystalline Manganese Oxide: Surpassing Platinum as Oxygen Reduction Catalyst in Direct Borohydride Fuel Cells

Carbon Supported Nanocrystalline Manganese Oxide: Surpassing Platinum as Oxygen Reduction Catalyst in Direct Borohydride Fuel Cells

Pd–Ir alloy as an anode material for borohydride oxidation

Hydrides

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