Multifunctional oxidation electrocatalysts for direct alkaline fuel cells
type: CreativeWork
description: The need for the development of new technologies to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels requires the combination of different energy sources such as wind, solar, nuclear as well as new energy storage and powering devices. Amongst these new technologies fuel cells are a promising technology capable of transforming chemical energy stored in fuels into electric power at higher efficiencies than combustion processes. However, the commercialization of fuel cells has been limited due to the high costs associated with electrocatalysts needed for the corrosive environments in which proton-exchange membrane fuel cells operate. Electrocatalysts for such fuel cells are based on expensive noble metals such as platinum. Nevertheless, the resurging interest on the development of alkaline fuel cells presents a number of advantages addressing the limitations of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells. Alkaline fuel cells operate at high pHs which allow the use of a wider variety of inexpensive and abundant materials such as transition and rare-earth metals. Moreover, faster kinetics have been reported in alkaline environments for both oxidation and reduction processes occurring at each of the electrodes. The discussion related to the first part of this dissertation focuses on the development of novel electrocatalysts for the oxidation of hydrazine for application in direct hydrazine alkaline fuel cells. Hydrazine is a carbon-free nontraditional fuel with high energy density (5kWh/kg), which is often considered a green fuel since its oxidation only produces nitrogen and water and does not contribute to the production of greenhouse gases emissions. It has been reported that transition metal catalysts such as Ni and Co demonstrate better performances than the commonly used Pt catalyst. Based on these preliminary findings, we have developed novel electrocatalysts with enhanced performance due to the addition of a second metal. α-NiZn electrocatalysts have shown improved performance due t…
abstract: The need for the development of new technologies to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels requires the combination of different energy sources such as wind, solar, nuclear as well as new energy storage and powering devices. Amongst these new technologies fuel cells are a promising technology capable of transforming chemical energy stored in fuels into electric power at higher efficiencies than combustion processes. However, the commercialization of fuel cells has been limited due to the high costs associated with electrocatalysts needed for the corrosive environments in which proton-exchange membrane fuel cells operate. Electrocatalysts for such fuel cells are based on expensive noble metals such as platinum. Nevertheless, the resurging interest on the development of alkaline fuel cells presents a number of advantages addressing the limitations of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells. Alkaline fuel cells operate at high pHs which allow the use of a wider variety of inexpensive and abundant materials such as transition and rare-earth metals. Moreover, faster kinetics have been reported in alkaline environments for both oxidation and reduction processes occurring at each of the electrodes. The discussion related to the first part of this dissertation focuses on the development of novel electrocatalysts for the oxidation of hydrazine for application in direct hydrazine alkaline fuel cells. Hydrazine is a carbon-free nontraditional fuel with high energy density (5kWh/kg), which is often considered a green fuel since its oxidation only produces nitrogen and water and does not contribute to the production of greenhouse gases emissions. It has been reported that transition metal catalysts such as Ni and Co demonstrate better performances than the commonly used Pt catalyst. Based on these preliminary findings, we have developed novel electrocatalysts with enhanced performance due to the addition of a second metal. α-NiZn electrocatalysts have shown improved performance due t…
author: Martinez, Ulises
language: English
keywords: Electrocatalysts, Alkaline Fuel Cells; Proton exchange membrane fuel cells., Hydrazine--Oxidation., Ethanol--Oxidation., Metal catalysts., Electrocatalysis.
date published: 2013-01-31T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:26:42Z
provider: University of New Mexico
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of New Mexico

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/1928/22055