The Long History of Fuel Cells

Biological fuel cells have a long history in the literature,but in recent years, they have come to prominence as more conventional fuel cell technologies have approached mass-market acceptance. Driving the recent ascendance of biofuel cells are the aspects of biocatalysis that are unmatched by conventional low-temperature oxidation—reduction catalysts, namely, activity at near-room temperatures and neutral pH and, more importantly, selective catalytic activity. 

Canada has a long history of hydrogen and fuel cell demonstrations. In 1993, the world s first fuel cell bus was displayed and in 1996, a second generation bus was demonstrated. With the success of these first fuel cell buses, a bus fleet demonstration was launched in 1997 which integrated numerous HFC technologies and illustrated that fuel cells and ancillary components could function as a whole system. Highlights include ... 

Electrosorption of Species Containing One Carbon Atom. - The investigation of the electrosorption and electrooxidation of CH3OH and the possible intermediates of its oxidation, HCHO, HCOOH, CO, has been a central task for fuel cell-oriented electrocatalytic research for several decades. Despite this long history, there is a continuous interest in these problems presumably for the very reason that we are still far from an inexpensive practical commercial realization of fuel cells. Review papers on this field... 

The lower-scale level typically provides the upper-scale level with space- and time-averaged transport parameters, and kinetic rate constants. This information transfer between the levels is typical for fuel cell modeling. Each level has a long history of research. 

The molten carbonate electrolyte fuel cell (MCFC) has a history that can be traced back at least as far as the 1920s. It operates at temperatures around 650°C. The main problems with this type of cell relate to the degradation of the cell components over long periods. The MCFC does, however, show great promise for use in CHP systems, and this is discussed in detail in Section 7.4. 

Li ion batteries are heavily advertised as the future power sources for electric vehicles. This seems premature because the technology of heat management and many questions of safety are not solved. Fuel cells and several types of secondary batteries have a long history in the field of electric vehicle propulsion, with successes and failures. For information on electric vehicle batteries, see [16-22],... 

The fuel cell has a long history. Sir William Grove invented the device in 1839, some 50 years before the advent of the internal combustion engine. The fuel cell... 

Nanomaterials have many possible applications for analytical chemistry [l], and for electronic, optical, and mechanical devices [2]. In particular, nanomaterials and electrochemistry have a long shared history (e.g., the use of finely dispersed Pt particles as catalysts in fuel cell electrodes). This Chapter deals specifically with electrochemical applications of the template-synthesized nanostructured diamond. We begin with the basic electrochemical properties of nanostructured diamond electrodes. Two possible electrochemical applications are discussed. 

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