Abstract
Hydrogen fuel cells (HFCs) are increasinly looked at as an important and promising source of clean energy with the potential to replace internal combustion engines in automobiles. However, current HFC use is limited by carbon monoxide poisoning of the anode catalyst. Therefore, the present project investigages membranes of metal nanoparticles decorated on sp 2-hybridized carbon surfaces that can be placed outside a fuel cell to capture CO before it enters the cell and poisons the anode catalyst. Density functional theory studies were performed with several metals on a small sp 2-hybridized carbon surface. It was found that CO adsorbs most strongly to platinum, followed closely by nickel. These results were investigated electrochemically for platinum and nickel nanoparticles decorated on several carbon substrates. It was found that CO adsorbs more strongly to Pt than Ni in all systems. However, the strength of CO adsorption to Pt is affected by the type of carbon substrate.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Technical Proceedings of the 2011 NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Expo, NSTI-Nanotech 2011 |
Pages | 734-737 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Volume | 1 |
Publication status | Published - 2011 |
Event | Nanotechnology 2011: Advanced Materials, CNTs, Particles, Films and Composites - 2011 NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Expo, NSTI-Nanotech 2011 - Boston, MA, United States Duration: 13 Jun 2011 → 16 Jun 2011 |
Conference
Conference | Nanotechnology 2011: Advanced Materials, CNTs, Particles, Films and Composites - 2011 NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Expo, NSTI-Nanotech 2011 |
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Country/Territory | United States |
City | Boston, MA |
Period | 13/06/11 → 16/06/11 |
Keywords
- Anode poisoning
- Carbon monoxide
- Hydrogen fuel cells
- Metal nanoparticles
- sp -hybridized carbon