PEMFC Performances Using Photocatalytic Hydrogen with a Dead-Ended Anode

AIR:EAU+EPUHydrogen was produced via photocatalytic dehydrogenation or reforming of different alcohols using Pt/TiO2 as catalyst. The hydrogen produced was not pure and contained some alcohol and by-products such as aldehydes and CO2. The photocatalytic hydrogen production system was coupled with an air-breathing PEM fuel cell. Different experimental parameters and conditions were compared such as photocatalyst concentration. Photocatalytic hydrogen resulted in very similar PEMFC performances as those obtained with pure hydrogen. The PEM fuel cell reached a current density of 52mAcm-2 at 220mV cell voltage using hydrogen produced with the photocatalytic set up. No irreversible poisoning effect was observed due to photocatalytic by-products. However, purging of the anodic compartment of the PEMFC was necessary to maintain good performances because of the accumulation of photocatalyst by-products in dead-end mode