KOH-doped polybenzimidazole membrane for direct hydrazine fuel cell

Yucheng Wang; Qi Wang; Li-Yang Wan; Yu Han; Yuhao Hong; Long Huang; Xiaodong Yang; Yuesheng Wang; Karim Zaghib; Zhiyou Zhou

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2019.12.046

KOH-doped polybenzimidazole membrane for direct hydrazine fuel cell

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2020 Mar 15:563:27-32. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2019.12.046. Epub 2019 Dec 13.

Authors

Yucheng Wang¹, Qi Wang¹, Li-Yang Wan¹, Yu Han¹, Yuhao Hong¹, Long Huang², Xiaodong Yang³, Yuesheng Wang⁴, Karim Zaghib⁵, Zhiyou Zhou⁶

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
² Kunming Institute of Precious Metals, Kunming 650106, China.
³ College of Materials Science & Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China.
⁴ Center of Excellence in Transportation Electrification and Energy Storage, Hydro Québec, Québec J3 × 1S1, Canada. Electronic address: Wang.Yuesheng@hydro.qc.ca.
⁵ Center of Excellence in Transportation Electrification and Energy Storage, Hydro Québec, Québec J3 × 1S1, Canada. Electronic address: Zaghib.Karim@hydro.qc.ca.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China. Electronic address: zhouzy@xmu.edu.cn.

PMID: 31865045
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2019.12.046

Abstract

Alkaline direct hydrazine (N₂H₄) fuel cells (DHFCs) are considered one of the most promising liquid-fed fuel cells because of their high energy density, high theoretical voltage, and zero carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. However, the lack of a suitable electrolyte membrane impedes the further development of alkaline DHFC. Herein, a potassium hydroxide (KOH)-doped polybenzimidazole (PBI) membrane is applied in alkaline DHFCs, and the detailed operating conditions are investigated for the first time. With optimal KOH and N₂H₄ concentrations in the anolyte, membrane thickness, and cathode gas humidity, the DHFC gives a peak power density of 0.708 W cm^-2. The results of this study demonstrate the promising application of PBI membranes in DHFC and provide a platform to evaluate the performance of catalysts synthesized for DHFC.

Keywords: Direct hydrazine fuel cell; Electrolyte membrane; KOH-doping; Polybenzimidazole (PBI); Power density.