Regenerative fuel cell with chemical reactions

The function of fuel cells largely depends upon catalytic electrodes which accomplish a chemical reaction to convert fuel into electric energy. For this purpose, a study has been conducted on different catalysts prepared from various precursors and tested in the fuel cells for power generation under identical conditions. A new precursor has been identified to prepare the catalysts, giving encouraging results. The activity of composite catalysts (ruthenium and platinum) was found more pronounced, and it was observed that a fuel cell with catalytic electrodes having composite catalysts (Ru 2.5 +Pt 2.5 wt.%) at the anode and (Ru 5.0 +Pt 2.5 wt.%) at the cathode has yielded the best performance in the present fuel cells. The short circuit current and open circuit voltage were found to be 49.63 mA and 91.05 mV, respectively, from the fuel cell having electrodes of surface area 4 cm(2). The flow rate of hydrogen during the performance study was kept at 100 ml/min (anode) and a diluted mixture of acetone and 2-propanol at 1 ml/min (cathode). The application of such fuel cells in solar energy utilization has a bright future for generation of power through a solar thermal cell (a new concept) and is entirely different from the photovoltaic system, which is a costly affair and has limited efficiency. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.