An ascorbate fuel cell with carbon black nanoparticles as anode and cathode

A grand challenge for optimization of fuel cells is reduction in catalyst cost due to the prolific use of precious metals. The development of alkaline direct liquid fuel cells has reduced dependence on Pt, but it has not eliminated the use of precious metals such as Pd. In this work, we demonstrate two ascorbate fuel cells that contain carbon black nanoparticles as the electrodes (both anode and cathode) to produce impactful power. The first fuel cell is constructed with an anion exchange membrane, a carbon anode, and a carbon cathode; the anode fuel stream contains ascorbate and KOH, while the cathode oxidant stream contains either oxygen or H2O2. Using 30% H2O2, its maximum power density increases from 12 to 16 mW cm(-2) as the temperature increases from 25 to 60 degrees C. The second fuel cell is constructed with a Na+ treated cation exchange membrane, a carbon anode, and a carbon cathode. With an alkaline anode fuel stream (ascorbate and KOH) combined with an acidic cathode oxidant stream (H2O2 and H2SO4) the maximum power density reaches 158 mW cm(-2) at 60 degrees C with 30% H2O2. The performance of these fuel cells is quite promising, especially since the electrodes only consist of carbon black nanoparticles.