Use of nanomaterials in fuel cell technology

化石燃料可以通过引入氢作为能量传递的介质而作为能量货币补充，所述能量传递通过利用电解器和燃料电池来产生、存储和转化成电。这种发电方式可以通过采用可再生能源缓解与温室气体排放影响有关的问题。所有主要的汽车公司（福特，通用汽车，戴姆勒克莱斯勒，宝马，本田，丰田）有主要的燃料电池计划和示范车辆的道路上今天。 燃料电池技术商业化的要求是设备相对便宜，并且它们将在广泛的电力需求范围内可靠地运行。这两个要求都需要开发活性、稳定和成本有效的电催化剂，以取代目前碱性燃料电池电极中使用的昂贵贵金属。对非晶和纳米晶材料的基础研究表明，这些材料作为电催化剂和耐腐蚀材料具有优异的优点。前沿碱性水电解槽（AWE）可以加压，可以接近SPEWE的电流密度和填充效率。关键的缺失环节是将纳米工程材料的发展纳入碱性燃料电池（AFC）技术，以显着提高工作电流密度，包装效率等。综合（AWE/AFC）通过共享设备组件的平衡，系统以大大降低的成本和系统简单性提供了显著的性能属性。作者在电池设计和可开发的材料方面开发了重要的知识产权在这个提议中。

Fossil fuels can be supplemented as an energy currency by introducing hydrogen as the medium of energy transfer through generation, storage and conversion into electricity by utilization of electrolysers and fuel cells. This mode of generation can alleviate problems associated with GHG emission effects by the introduction of renewables. All major automotive companies (Ford, GM, Daimler-Chrysler, BMW, Honda, Toyota)have major fuel cell programs and demonstration vehicles on the road today. Requirements for the commercialization of fuel cell technology are that devices are relatively inexpensive and that they will operate reliably over a wide range of power demands. Both of these requirements necessitate that active, stable, and cost effective electrocatalysts be developed to replace the expensive noble metals now used in alkaline fuel cell electrodes. Fundamental research on the development of amorphous and nanocrystalline materials has shown these materials to have excellent merit as electrocatalysts and corrosion resistant materials. The leading edge alkaline water electrolyser(AWE) can be pressurized and can approach the current density and packing efficiency of SPEWE. The key missing link is the incorporation of nanoengineering material developments in alkaline fuel cell (AFC) technology to significantly improve operating current density, packing efficiency etc.The combined (AWE/AFC)system offers significant performance attributes at a greatly reduced cost and system simplicity by sharing balance of plant components .The author has developed significant intellectual property in both cell design and materials that can be exploited in this proposal.