platinum fuel cell Archives – The Green Optimistic

Dutch University Discovers How to Reduce Platinum Use in Fuel Cells

Annika Tostengard — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 05:21:58 +0000

Researchers from Tufts University have discovered a way to make fuel cells cheaper by using less platinum. Platinum is used as a catalyst in fuel cells, inducing the chemical reactions that make green technology like electric vehicle batteries work. Platinum, however, is extremely scarce and so using it in any technologies generally prohibits them from being very […]

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New Platinum Electroplate Method Could Make Hydrogen Fuel Cells More Affordable

Benji Jerew — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 17:59:52 +0000

In order for the anode and cathodes in hydrogen fuel cells to survive, that is, do the job without degrading, they are covered with a material that needs to resist corrosion as well as conduct electricity. Unfortunately, some of the materials needed for such coatings, such as platinum, are expensive. Additionally, the processes used are […]

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Lung-Shaped Fuel Cell Decreases Platinum Usage, Increases Efficiency

Ovidiu Sandru — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:45:13 +0000

An interesting case of biomimetrics comes from Norway's Academy of Science and Letters in Oslo, where Signe Kjelstrup designed a fuel cell having the interior structure similar to that of the lungs. This is a case where both the shape and the function were imported from naturally-developed organisms.

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Electrode Surface Texture: Key to Using Less Platinum in Methanol Fuel Cells

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:03:41 +0000

MIT researchers, along with their colleagues from the Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Japan Institute of Science and Technology have found a method of decreasing the amount of platinum used in DMFCs by increasing the efficiency of the fuel cell's electrodes. Others have tried to replace the platinum on the cathode with a liquid regenerating catalyst system (catholyte solution).

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Dealloying Process Creates More Efficient and Cheaper Platinum for Fuel Cells

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 09:20:46 +0000

Fuel cells are usually expensive because they use platinum as a catalyst. To make them more appealing to the market, researchers from the DOE's National Accelerator Laboratory and the University of Houston, have created a new type of platinum catalyst, reducing the use of the pure metal down to 80 or even 70 percent, thus reducing the overall cost.

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French Nickel Catalyst Promises Cheaper Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Ovidiu Sandru — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 22:02:09 +0000

A group of researchers from France revealed some tests in this week's issue of the journal Science that shows how platinum can be substituted with nickel, by mimicking the process going on in anaerobic-living algae. These have an enzyme, called hydrogenase, and use it to metabolize hydrogen.

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New Catalyst Makes Ethanol Fuel Cells Feasible at Room Temperatures

Ovidiu Sandru — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 20:28:22 +0000

I don't know the solution to the perfect energy equation, but as long as we're producing CO2 it's not the final one. Anyway, until a new and better method is found to be feasible enough, this is a good one, too.

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New Membrane by Chinese Scientist Can Make Fuel Cells Cheaper

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 04:20:07 +0000

Currently, platinum is used as a catalyst in hydrogen fuel cells, making them so expensive and hence unappetizing to customers. Lin Zhang, a Chinese scientist, has discovered a membrane that could make the usage of platinum history, and make fuel cells cheaper than ever.

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