Angewandte Chemie - International Edition
Angewandte Chemie - International Edition
5 years ago

A Sodium-Ion-Conducting Direct Formate Fuel Cell: Generating Electricity and Producing Base

A Sodium-Ion-Conducting Direct Formate Fuel Cell: Generating Electricity and Producing Base
Yinshi Li, Xianda Sun, Ying Feng, Yaling He
A barrier that limits the development of the conventional cation-exchange membrane direct liquid fuel cells (CEM-DLFCs) is that the CEM-DLFCs need additional base to offer both alkaline environment and charge carriers. Herein, we propose a Na+-conducting direct formate fuel cell (Na-DFFC) that is operated in the absence of added base. A proof-of-concept Na-DFFC yields a peak power density of 33 mW cm−2 at 60 °C, mainly because the hydrolysis of sodium formate provides enough OH− and Na+ ions, proving the conceptual feasibility. Moreover, contrary to the conventional chlor-alkali process, this Na-DFFC enables to generate electricity and produce NaOH simultaneously without polluting the environment. The Na-DFFC runs stably during 13 hours of continuous operation at a constant current of 10 mA, along with a theoretical production of 195 mg NaOH. This work presents a new type of electrochemical conversion device that possesses a wide range of potential applications. Electrochemical energy conversion: A Na+-conducting direct formate fuel cell (Na-DFFC) was successfully developed and operated without adding OH− and Na+ ions. Contrary to the conventional chlor-alkali process, the Na-DFFC enables to generate electricity and produce base simultaneously without polluting the environment.

Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi

DOI: 10.1002/anie.201701816

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