Construction an‎d characterization of alkaline alcohol fuel cell based on tungsten alloy as anode electrode

11/21/2025 12:00:00 AM

Todayʹs world is a stage for new technologies an‎d is evolving day by day as scientistsʹ knowledge an‎d skills become more practical. One of the new technologies in todayʹs world is modern an‎d reliable transportation systems that can be used with low energy an‎d cost an‎d without harming the environment. Alcohol fuel cells directly produce electrical energy using renewable fuels such as ethanol through an electrochemical reaction, an‎d their final products are CO2 (by EOR at the anode) an‎d H2O2 (by ORR at the cathode). For this reason, they are a good alternative to internal combustion engines an‎d do not have the problems caused by fossil fuels. There are still challenges for the development of ethanol fuel cells that have prevented their widespread development. The construction of ethanol fuel cells with high output power, using noble metal electrocatalysts (Pt, Pd) is expensive. High electrocatalytic activity if maintained an‎d sustained is another challenge that has been the subject of much research in this direction. Considering the challenges facing alcohol fuel cells, in this project, the eva‎luation of anode electrode performance based on available an‎d cheap electrocatalysts has been studied an‎d investigated. Nickel tungsten alloy on steel substrate (NiW/CS) was studied by optimizing the effective parameters in NiW layer deposition for EOR. The synergistic effect of Ni an‎d W increased the electrocatalytic activity an‎d stability of the anode electrode in alkaline media for EOR. Current density of 160 mA. cm-2 at a potential of 0.7 V vs. Ag/AgCl in 1M NaOH + 2M EtOH electrolyte with a stability of 2000 cycles, the results of the optimization of the NiW/CS alloy layer deposition indicate good stability of the electrocatalyst at high current density. Also, electrochemical layer deposition is a cost-effective, fast an‎d environmentally friendly method. To increase the efficiency of electrocatalytic activity, a nickel foam substrate with a significant surface area was selec‎ted an‎d to increase the electrocatalyst surface area an‎d its active sites, the formation of nickel nanotubes (NiNTs) was investigated. The electrocatalyst nickel hexacyanoferrate (NiHCF) was deposited on a substrate of nickel nanotubes (NiNT) formed on nickel foam, named NiHCF@NiNT, for EOR an‎d its performance was investigated. The performance of the electrocatalyst NiHCF@NiNT with its pyrolysis in the presence of melamine, named Ni@Ni-N/Fe-NC, was also investigated as a cathode electrode in ORR. Ethanol oxidation on the NiHCF@NiNT electrode showed a current density of 500 mA. cm-² at a potential of 0.99 V vs Ag/AgCl an‎d a stability of 600 cycles. The performance of the pyrolyzed electrocatalyst (Ni@Ni-N/Fe-NC) in oxygen reduction also showed good results. The onset potential (Eonset) an‎d half-wave potential (E1/2) were 0.90 an‎d 0.76 V, respectively, which will be better with the optimization of the electrocatalyst.

پيل سوختي اتانولي مستقيم، اكسايش اتانول، كاهش اكسيژن، نانولوله هاي نيكل، آلياژ تنگستن

Direct ethanol fuel cell, Ethanol oxidation, Oxygen reduction, Nickel nanotubes, Tungsten alloy

Fatemeh Hedayatinasab

Prof. Ali Ghaffarinejad