Hydrogen Fuel Cells

What is a hydrogen fuel cell?

Hydrogen fuel cells (HFCs) are a type of
electrochemical cell.

HFCs generate electricity by reduction
and oxidation reactions within the cell.

They use three main components, a
fuel, an oxidant and an electrolyte.

HFCs are a thermodynamically open
system.

HFCs use hydrogen as a fuel, oxygen as
an oxidant, a proton exchange
membrane as an electrolyte, and emit
only water as waste.

Animation of PEMFC

Chemistry behind the technology
Oxidation

At the anode of the cell, a
catalyst (platinum powder)
is used to separate the
proton from the electron in
the hydrogen fuel.
Anode half-reaction:
2H
2
4H
+
+ 4e
-
E
o
= 0.00V
Reduction

At the cathode of the cell, a
second catalyst (nickel) is used to
recombine the protons,
electrons, and oxygen atoms to
form water.
Cathode half- reaction:
4H
+
+ O
2
+ 4e
-
2H
2
O
E
o
= 0.68V

In electrochemistry, the E
o
cell
value (energy) of a fuel cell is equal to the E
o

of
the cathode half-reaction minus the E
o

of the anode half-reaction. For a
hydrogen fuel cell, the two half reactions are shown above. So to calculate the
energy of one fuel cell, we need to subtract the anode energy from the
cathode energy. For a HFC, the E
o
cell
= 0.68V 0.00V which equals 0.68V
Uses of hydrogen fuel cells
There are many different uses of fuel cells being utilized right now. Some of these
uses are
Power sources for vehicles such as cars, trucks, buses and even boats and submarines




Power sources for spacecraft, remote weather stations and military technology




Batteries for electronics such as laptops and smart phones




Sources for uninterruptable power supplies.


References
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fuelcell.shtml

http://www.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/alternative-fuels/fuel-cell.htm

http://www.energy.gov

Chemical Principles, Sixth Edition, Zumdahl