posted on 2023-08-11, 14:07authored byZhefei Pan, Zhewei Zhang, Wenzhi Li, Xiaoyu Huo, Yun Liu, Oladapo Christopher Esan, Qixing Wu, Liang An
Direct
formate fuel cells are attractive due to their high theoretical
voltage of 1.45 V, facile and complete formate oxidation in alkaline
media, and ease of handling during storage and transportation. However,
the presence of cations in the fuel solution only increases the weight
load of the fuel cell system without contributing to electricity generation.
In this work, an ammonium formate fuel cell is developed, which can
not only retain the advantages of formate but also substitute the
Na+/K+ with ammonium (NH4+) to release electrons for electricity generation. This fuel cell
achieves a peak power density of 61 mW cm–2 at 60
°C. By replacing pure oxygen with hydrogen peroxide and increasing
the temperature and fuel concentration, the peak power density is
increased to 337 mW cm–2. In addition, a mathematical
model incorporating mass/charge transport and electrochemical reactions
is developed to illustrate the voltage losses.