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US 5,945,231 AGranted
Direct liquid-feed fuel cell with membrane electrolyte and manufacturing thereof
AssigneeCalifornia Institute of Technology
InventorsSekharipuram Narayanan, Subbarao Surampudi, Gerald Halpert
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Abstract
An improved direct liquid-feed fuel cell having a solid membrane electrolyte for electrochemical reactions of an organic fuel. Improvements in interfacing of the catalyst layer and the membrane and activating catalyst materials are disclosed.
Claims14
A device for generating electrical power by electrochemical reactions of a liquid organic fuel, comprising:
- a housing having a first compartment for electro-oxidation of said fuel and a second compartment for electro-reduction of oxygen;
- a solid electrolyte membrane having a first and a second membrane surfaces, disposed in said housing to partition said housing into said first and second compartments, said membrane operable to conduct protons and exchange cations;
- an anode formed on said first membrane surface and interconnecting said membrane and said first compartment, said anode comprising a first catalyst layer and a first carbon backing layer;
- and
- a cathode formed on said second membrane surface and interconnecting said membrane and said second compartment, said cathode comprising a second catalyst layer and a second carbon backing layer;
- wherein each catalyst layer is formed from a mixture having about 7-10% of a catalyst that comprises platinum and ruthenium, about 60-70% of perfluorovinylether sulfonic acid, and about 15-20% of polytetrafluoroethylene.
3 more elements
A method of constructing device for generating electrical power by electrochemical reactions of a liquid organic fuel, comprising:
- providing a solid electrolyte membrane having a first and a second membrane surfaces and operable to conduct protons and exchange cations;
- forming an anode on said first membrane surface, said anode comprising a first catalyst layer and a first carbon backing layer;
- and
- forming a cathode on said second membrane surface, said cathode comprising a second catalyst layer and a second carbon backing layer;
- wherein each catalyst layer is formed from a catalyst mixture solution comprising about 7-10% of a catalyst that includes platinum and ruthenium, about 60-70% of perfluorovinylether sulfonic acid, and about 15-20% of polytetrafluoroethylene.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.