Researchers develop new ethanol-based fuel cell; catalyst solves slow oxidation problem

Researchers at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, working with teams from University of Delaware and Yeshiva University, announced a new catalyst that can support ethanol fuel cells and make them commercially viable. In the process, ethanol replaces hydrogen in the process, to make the overall product easier to distribute and store. The hydrogen-rich ethanol is converted to water and electricity via a catalytic process.

The researchers have developed a fast-acting catalyst that can speed what was previously a fatally slow oxidation process that slows the production of hydrogen ions and electrons.

The researchers have developed platinum-rhodium tin dioxide nanoparticles  that more easily break carbon-carbon bonds at room temperatures, with no acetic acid byproducts that render the process useless for fuel generation.

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