EAPSI: Novel Metal Nanoparticles to Improve the Efficiency and Reduce the Cost of Fuel Cells

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With the advent of the industrial revolution, more and more natural resources are being depleted due to the burning of fossil fuels. As a resolution to this problem, there have been increasing efforts in studying more sustainable forms of energy. One of these research topics is in the area of fuel cells. Fuel cells are very promising because their main by-product is water, therefore not causing any extra damage to the environment. However, only expensive metals are efficient enough to be used in these devices and that limits the commercial availability of these products. The goal of this research project will be to produce metal nanoparticles that will improve the efficiency and lower the cost of fuel cells. The research will be conducted in collaboration with Professor Shi-Gang Sun at Xiamen University, Xiamen, China. Professor Sun's laboratory is one of the top electrochemical research laboratories in the world and would be an ideal place because of the access to top-notch equipment and materials. The specific research plan is to create multi-faceted nanoparticles as catalysts for the formic acid oxidation reaction. The nanoparticles will by synthesized using electrochemical pulse treatment, which Professor Sun's laboratory specializes in. We will specifically studying how changing the parameters of the pulse treatment will affect the nanoparticles. They will also be capped with aliphatic ligands derived from diazonium salts. These ligands change the electron density surrounding the metal and therefore affect the binding energy of fuel intermediates, therefore enhancing the oxidation ability. The effects will be tested electrocatalytically, specifically for the formic acid oxidation reaction. The reaction's kinetics are sluggish and hopefully they will be improved by these nanoparticles. This NSF EAPSI award supports the research of a U.S. graduate student and is funded in collaboration with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.