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Optimizing Reduced Graphene Oxide with Metallic Nanoparticles for Increasing the Efficiency of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 December 2014

Rebecca Isseroff ,
Arthur Chen ,
Lee Blackburn ,
Justin Lish ,
Long Tao Han ,
Hongfei Li  and
Miriam Rafailovich
Rebecca Isseroff
Affiliation:
Dept. of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, SUNY Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, United States. Lawrence High School, Cedarhurst, NY, United States
Arthur Chen
Affiliation:
Lawrence High School, Cedarhurst, NY, United States
Lee Blackburn
Affiliation:
Lawrence High School, Cedarhurst, NY, United States
Justin Lish
Affiliation:
Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaways, Cedarhurst, NY, United States
Long Tao Han
Affiliation:
Dept. of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, SUNY Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, United States.
Hongfei Li
Affiliation:
Dept. of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, SUNY Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, United States.
Miriam Rafailovich
Affiliation:
Dept. of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, SUNY Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, United States.
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Abstract

The oxidation of CO to CO2 is necessary in the operation of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) since even a small amount of CO that is formed when the PEMFC is operated under ambient conditions is sufficient to poison the Pt catalyst in the electrodes and degrade the performance. Operation using higher loads of Pt catalysts or increasing the purity of the H2 input gas significantly adds to the cost, adversely impacting the commercial development of PEMFCs. We combined graphene oxide (GO) with metallic salts and partially reduced the mixture with sodium borohydride, yielding a metallized form of partially reduced graphene oxide (prGO) platelets that remained in solution. When these platelets were coated on the Nafion membrane of a PEMFC, a 72% increase in the power output was observed, whereas a 62% increase was observed when the membrane was coated with partially reduced graphene oxide without the metallic salts. Results will be presented for AuGO/prGO, PtGO/prGO, and AuPtGO/prGO combinations.

Keywords

catalyticnanostructureenergy generation
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1735: Symposium S/W/CC – Advanced Materials for Photovoltaic, Fuel Cell and Electrolyzer , 2015 , mrsf14-1735-s10-04
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2014 

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References

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