Effect of KOH concentration in the gel polymer electrolyte for direct borohydride fuel cell
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2012
Abstract
The performance of a direct borohydride fuel cell (DBFC) based on a polyacrylamide (PAAm) gel polymer electrolyte system is investigated at different electrolyte concentrations. The DBFC, constructed using 2M sodium borohydride (NaBH4) as the fuel and potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution gelled with PAAm as the electrolytes yield the highest electrical conductivity of 2.73 x 10-1 S cm-1 at 6M KOH. The optimized composition, PAAm + 2M NaBH4 + 6M KOH, and the selected composition, PAAm + 2M NaBH4 + 3M KOH are then used in preparing the cells. Open-circuit voltages for fuel cells is about 0.85-0.92 V, and the discharge characteristic produce discharge capacities of about 257.12-273.12 mAh cm-2 for cells with PAAm-6M KOH. Current-voltage and current density-power density plots and internal resistance for both cells are almost the same. (c) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012
Keywords
Sodium borohydride, Gel polymer electrolyte, Potassium hydroxide, Alkaline fuel cell, Membranes
Divisions
CHEMISTRY
Publication Title
Journal of Applied Polymer Science
Volume
123
Issue
5
Publisher
Wiley
Additional Information
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science Building, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA