Nano-structured ion-conducting inorganic membranes for fuel cell applications
First Claim
1. A fuel cell comprising a fuel anode, an oxidant cathode, and a proton-conducting membrane disposed between said anode and said cathode, wherein said membrane comprises a nano-structured network of proton-exchange inorganic particles, characterized in that said particles form a sufficiently high density of proton-conducting nanometer-scaled so that ionic conductivity of said membrane is no less than 10−
- 6 S/cm at 25°
C. or no less than 10−
4 S/cm at 200°
C.
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Abstract
An inorganic proton-conducting membrane and a fuel cell comprising this membrane. The fuel cell comprises a fuel anode, an oxidant cathode, and an inorganic proton-conducting membrane disposed between the anode and the cathode. The membrane is composed of a nano-structured network of proton-exchange inorganic particles. The particles form a sufficiently high density of proton-conducting nanometer-scaled channels with at least one dimension smaller than 100 nanometers so that ionic conductivity of the membrane is no less than 10−6 S/cm (mostly greater than 10−4 S/cm ) at 25° C. or no less than 10−4 S/cm (mostly greater than 10−2 S/cm) at 200° C. This inorganic membrane allows a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell to operate at a higher temperature without the need (or with a reduced need) to maintain the membrane in a highly hydrated state. A higher operating temperature also implies a fast electro-catalytic reaction of a fuel (e.g., mixture of methanol and water) at the anode permitting a lesser amount of fuel to cross-over the membrane and, hence, a higher fuel utilization efficiency.
129 Citations
22 Claims
-
1. A fuel cell comprising a fuel anode, an oxidant cathode, and a proton-conducting membrane disposed between said anode and said cathode, wherein said membrane comprises a nano-structured network of proton-exchange inorganic particles, characterized in that said particles form a sufficiently high density of proton-conducting nanometer-scaled so that ionic conductivity of said membrane is no less than 10−
- 6 S/cm at 25°
C. or no less than 10−
4 S/cm at 200°
C. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
- 6 S/cm at 25°
-
21. A proton-conducting membrane comprising a nano-structured network of proton-exchange inorganic particles, characterized in that said particles from a sufficiently high density of proton-conducting nanometer-scaled so that ionic conductivity of said membrane is no less than 10−
- 6 S/cm at 25°
C. or no less than 10−
4 S/cm at 200°
C. - View Dependent Claims (22)
- 6 S/cm at 25°
Specification