Solid proton

T.I. Politova, V.A. Sobyanin, and V.D. Belyaev, Ethylene hydrogenation in electrochemical cell with solid proton-conducting electrolyte, Reaction Kinetics and Catalysis Letters 41(2), 321-326 (1990). 

Fig. 6. Summary of the I.B. spectra of the solid proton addition complexes of benzene with different Lewis tuiids at 77°K (I.B.-inactive vibrations of benzene are shown with broken lines). (Perkampns and Baumgarten, 1964b.)...

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) working at around 70 °C with a polymer membrane electrolyte, such as Nafion, which is a solid proton conductor (conducting by the H + cation). 

Conventional reference electrodes consist of a solid reversible electrode and an aqueous electrolyte solution. To measure the individual contributions from the anode and the cathode of a PEM fuel cell, the electrolyte solution of the reference electrode must either be in direct contact with one side of the solid proton exchange membrane or be located in a separate compartment with electrical contact between the reference electrode and the solid membrane by means of a salt bridge [66], As a result, two different types of reference electrode configurations are employed for the study of fuel cells internal and external. 

A second commercially available electrolyzer technology is the solid polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM). PEM electrolysis (PEME) is also referred to as solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) or polymer electrolyte membrane (also, PEM), but all represent a system that incorporates a solid proton-conducting membrane which is not electrically conductive. The membrane serves a dual purpose, as the gas separation device and ion (proton) conductor. High-purity deionized (DI) water is required in PEM-based electrolysis, and PEM electrolyzer manufacturer regularly recommend a minimum of 1 MQ-cm resistive water to extend stack life. 

The most successful solid protonic membrane for fuel cell use is NAFION membrane (saturated with aqueous acid solution) used in kW-size fuel cells in the US Gemini space program up to 150 °C. NAFION is a perfluorinated polymer with sulfonic acid groups. 

PEM fuel cells use a solid proton-conducting polymer as the electrolyte at 50-125 °C. The cathode catalysts are based on Pt alone, but because of the required tolerance to CO a combination of Pt and Ru is preferred for the anode [8]. For low-temperature (80 °C) polymer membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) colloidal Pt/Ru catalysts are currently under broad investigation. These have also been proposed for use in the direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) or in PEMFC, which are fed with CO-contaminated hydrogen produced in on-board methanol reformers. The ultimate dispersion state of the metals is essential for CO-tolerant PEMFC, and truly alloyed Pt/Ru colloid particles of less than 2-nm size seem to fulfill these requirements [4a,b,d,8a,c,66j. Alternatively, bimetallic Pt/Ru PEM catalysts have been developed for the same purpose, where nonalloyed Pt nanoparticles <2nm and Ru particles <1 nm are dispersed on the carbon support [8c]. From the results it can be concluded that a Pt/Ru interface is essential for the CO tolerance of the catalyst regardless of whether the precious metals are alloyed. For the manufacture of DMFC catalysts, in... 

In organic solids, protons rarely exist as well-isolated spin pairs. An important question that must then be asked is, what is the effect upon the observed... 

The PE MFC has a solid ionomer membrane as the electrolyte, and a platinum, carbon-supported Pt or Pt-based alloy as the electrocatalyst. Within the cell, the fuel is oxidized at the anode and the oxidant reduced at the cathode. As the solid proton-exchange membrane (PEM) functions as both the cell electrolyte and separator, and the cell operates at a relatively low temperature, issues such as sealing, assembly, and handling are less complex than with other fuel cells. The P EM FC has also a number of other advantages, such as a high power density, a rapid low-temperature start-up, and zero emission. With highly promising prospects in both civil and military applications, PEMFCs represent an ideal future altemative power source for electric vehicles and submarines [6]. 

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