A high power density, high efficiency hydrogen-chlorine regenerative fuel cell with a low precious metal content catalyst

• Published in: Energy & environmental science Vol. 5; no. 9; pp. 869 - 8698
• Main Authors: Huskinson, Brian, Rugolo, Jason, Mondal, Sujit K, Aziz, Michael J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.09.2012
• ISSN: 1754-5692; 1754-5706
• DOI: 10.1039/c2ee22274d

We report the performance of a hydrogen-chlorine electrochemical cell with a chlorine electrode employing a low precious metal content alloy oxide electrocatalyst for the chlorine electrode: (Ru 0.09 Co 0.91 ) 3 O 4 . The cell employs a commercial hydrogen fuel cell electrode and transports protons through a Nafion membrane in both galvanic and electrolytic mode. The peak galvanic power density exceeds 1 W cm 2 , which is twice previous literature values. The precious metal loading of the chlorine electrode is below 0.15 mg Ru cm 2 . Virtually no activation losses are observed, allowing the cell to run at nearly 0.4 W cm 2 at 90% voltage efficiency. We report the effects of fluid pressure, electrolyte acid concentration, and hydrogen-side humidification on overall cell performance and efficiency. A comparison of our results to the model of Rugolo et al. [Rugolo et al. , J. Electrochem. Soc. , 2012, 159 , B133] points out directions for further performance enhancement. The performance reported here gives these devices promise for applications in carbon sequestration and grid-scale electrical energy storage. A hydrogen-chlorine regenerative fuel cell, incorporating a new oxide alloy electrocatalyst, exhibits a peak power density above 1 W cm 2 . The device could be used in grid-scale energy storage or carbon sequestration.