History of Fuel Cells

The water molecule H2O possesses smaller Gibbs energy than the sum total of individual H2 and 02 molecules. Hence, upon mixing, H2 and O2 have a natural tendency to form the water molecule, i.e.. 

We can also say that combustion of hydrogen takes place, which produces electrical energy instead of heat energy. 

Current is passed using a DC power supply, which results in the electrolysis of water into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2). The electrodes are made of platinum necessarily acting as catalysts. The electrolysis process will run as reverse and 

At the reaction sites hydrogen molecules break into ions and electrons. The electrons migrate through the external circuit and ions difiuse through the electrolyte. 

The oxygen breaks up and reacts with the electrons (from the anode). Furthermore, the protons react with oxygen ions to form water i.e.. 

Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald (1853-1932), one of the founders of physical chemistry, provided a large portion of the theoretical understanding of how fuel 

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Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald (1853-1932), a founder of the field of physical chemistry, provided much of the theoretical understanding of how fuel cells operate. In 1893, he experimentally determined the interconnected roles of the various components of the fuel cell electrodes, electrolyte, oxidizing and reducing agents, anions, and cations. His exploration of the underlying chemistry of fuel cells laid the groundwork for later fuel cell researchers. 

In 1896, Antonio Henri Becquerel (1852-1908) made a new type of battery and used a carbon rod. Ludwig Mond and Carl Langer produced a gas-powered battery and called their system a fuel cell in 1889. In 1889, Ludwig Mond (1838-1909) and assistant Carl Langer described their experiments with a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell that attained 6 A (ampere) per square foot at 0.73 V. Mond and Langer s cell used electrodes of thin, perforated platinum. 

William W. Jacques further explored the carbon approach in 1896. His fuel cells had a carbon rod central anode in the electrolyte of molten potassium hydroxide. He made a fuel cell system of 100 cylindrical cells, which produced as much as 1500 W. Francis T. Bacon worked on fuel cells to produce alkaline systems that did not use noble metal catalysts in the 1930s. He developed and built a 6 kW alkaline hydrogen-oxygen system in 1959. In the same year, Dr. Harry Ihrig introduced 

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A Basic Overview of Fuel Cell Technology. Collecting the History of Fuel Cells A Smithsonian Research Project. Smithsonian Institution. Available online. URL http //americanhistory.si.edu/ fuelcells/basics.htm. Accessed Dec. 17, 2006. 

The history of fuel cells is lengthy. The first fuel cell, indeed, was produced in 1839 by a British judge, Sir William Grove. It was not until 1959 that Tom Bacon, a member of the family of Francis T. Bacon (who first enunciated the scientific method of experimentation and communication) made practical a 5-kW fuel cell. Tom Bacon,... 

This chapter has presented a brief history of fuel cell evolution, the electrochemical fundamentals of PEM fuel cells, PEM fuel cell concepts and terminology, as well as performance analysis. Its main purpose has been to provide readers with some introductory and background information for a fundamental understanding of fuel cell AC impedance, to facilitate their journey through the next several chapters. 

A. Appleby and F. Foulkes, Fuel Cell Handbook (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1989 Krieger, 1993). This book, one of the standard reference texts on fuel-cell technology, provided much of the historical and technical information for this section. Another main source, especially for the early history of fuel-cell technology, is Fuel Cell Systems, ed. L. Blomen and M. Mugerwa (Plenum, 1993). 

Key words Fuel Cells/History Of Fuel Cells/Zirconia/Nanopowders/Fuel Cell Program... 

However, throughout the history of fuel cell development, very few attempts were made to build a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell with a sulfuric acid solution as an electrolyte. Sulfuric acid proved not to work well in fuel cells as an electrolyte. 

History of Fuel Cell Technology in Automobile Applications... 

Smithsonian Natural History Museum. 2008. Collecting the history of fuel cells. http //americanhistory.si.edu/fuelcells/ (accessed May 29,2009)... 

The construction of small fuel cells is a relatively new field of development in the history of fuel cells. Basic work in this field started after the beginning of... 

There are monographs concerning fuel cells (141-144). The principle of fuel cells was observed already in 1838 (145). Soon afterwards the Grove cell was developed (146). The Grove cell consisted of a zinc anode in dilute sulfuric acid and a platinum cathode in concentrated nitric acid. The two electrodes were separated by a porous ceramic pot (147). Further aspects of the history of fuel cells have been detailed (148). 

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