Ultrasonic Spray Fuel Cell Coating and Membrane Electrode Assembly for the Whole Cell Performance Evaluation of Microbial-Inorganic Hybrid based Fuel Cells
Abstract
We are seeking funds for a tabletop ultrasonic spray fuel cell coating system and a fuel cell (PEMFC) test station to construct an in-house fuel cell device fabrication and evaluation system.This system will complement with our existing strength in nanomaterial synthesis and their applications in electrocatalysis (mostly related to sustainable energy technologies), and enable usto conduct direct, efficient, and comprehensive evaluation of our ongoing new materials for their practically relevant performance. It will therefore significantly enhance the research achievements we have made during ~Nanoscale Electron Transport in Biofilms~ previously funded by Office of Naval Research (ONR Grant N00014-1410051). and facilitate our ongoing research o ~Microbial-Inorganic Hybrid Bio-Materials~, (ONR Grant N00014-1712608).Till now, due to the intensive efforts attracted in this field, various catalysts have been developed and showing good potential for fuel cell application. Currently, the evaluation of fuel cell catalyst performance is based on either half-cell, typically rotating disk electrode (RDE) setup, or full cell, which is the membrane electrode assembly (MEA). However, most of developed catalysts are only tested in RDE system, which shows some limitations for evaluating the catalystperformance in real PEMFC working environment and has already been pointed out in recent studies. RDE system cannot evaluate the polymer electrolyte membrane degradation and poison scenario which is critique for practical performance of PEMFC. Thus a set of full cell test system, including ultrasonic spray fuel cell coating system and PEMFC test station is needed for evaluatingcatalyst performance in practical working environment and further screen for best catalyst. The Broader Impacts of this proposal arise primarily from the education and training of the next generation of DoD scientist and engineers. Programs enabled by proposed MEA and PEMFC systems will be closely integrated with education and outreach activities to broadly disseminatethe research results. The proposed research program will provide graduate students with educational and training opportunities that are broadly based and go beyond traditional educational boundaries, through the multidisciplinary projects that offer a highly-combined electrochemistry, synthetic chemistry, surface chemistry, microbiology and industrially-relevant instrumentdevelopment experiences. Students from underrepresented group with different backgrounds and expertise will be actively recruited to participate in the research program. The PEMFC devices developed in this program will be integrated into graduate and undergraduate courses to broaden the educational experience beyond the PIs~ laboratories. In conjunction with the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI), we will train high school teachers who will be given experimentalkits to bring back to their high school science classes, thus impacting the community in a very positive fashion. Together, these efforts will contribute significantly to education and training of the next generation of individuals ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century including maintaining a competitive advantage for US energy safety and US biotechnology
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jul 10, 2018
- Source ID
- N000141812271
Entities
People
- Yu Huang
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of California, Los Angeles