| Today more than ever, a sustainable energy supply for the next generation is needed. In order to reach a sustainable future in terms of energy use, it is essential to develop a new set of energy technologies to be efficient in production and consumption. Fuel cells now are in great interest as clean energy converters for use in producing electricity for consumers and as the energy source for various applications including electric vehicles, portable devices and stationary power plants. Formic acid is being studied an alternative fuel to methanol in direct liquid fuel cells for portable power applications.;This work experimentally explores, (1) the impact of porosity in anode catalyst layer of a direct formic acid fuel cell on increased power output, and (2) the impact of ad-atoms on transition metal atoms for formic acid electro-oxidation. Specific research objectives are: 1) to fabricate anode catalyst layers with varying porosity and probe its impact on formic acid concentration at the surface of catalyst; 2) refine a novel spontaneous deposition of ad-atoms onto platinum (Pt) and palladium (Pd) based catalyst using a scalable non-electrochemical bulk deposition method; 3) Probe influence of spontaneously deposited Bi ad-atoms on Pt/C and Pd/C catalyst towards formic acid electro-oxidation and long term durability.;The outcome of this research can complement previous efforts on the development of catalysts for formic acid electro-oxidation, and add a new perspective that can be applied for various liquid fuel cells, which can provide guidance for development of a new generation of advanced catalysts. |
