9 research outputs found
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The electrochemical properties of bundles of single-walled nanotubes
This is the final report of a Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The authors studied electrochemical properties of single-walled fullerene nanotube bundles. The materials exhibited a highly anisotropic conductivity. Electrochemical cycling in solutions of alkyl ammonium salts in propylene carbonate revealed that the nanotubes are stable to at least {+-}1.5 V and have a fairly high accessible surface area. Double-layer charging currents of approximately 30 farads per gram were observed. This is on the same order of magnitude, though somewhat lower, than state-of-the-art values for ultra-capacitor materials. Electrochemical insertion of lithium was attempted. Though several features were observed in a slow cyclic voltammetric scan, these features were not reversible, indicating little reversible insertion. Several possible reasons for this behavior are discussed
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A rapid method for the determination of lithium transference numbers
Lithium ion-conducting polymer electrolytes are of increasing interest for use in lithium-polymer batteries. Lithium transference numbers, the net fraction of current carried by lithium in a cell, are key figures of merit for potential lithium battery electrolytes. The authors describe the Electrophoretic NMR (ENMR) method for the determination of lithium ion transference numbers (T{sub Li}). The work presented is a proof-of-concept of the application of the ENMR method to lithium ion transference measurements for several different lithium salts in gelled electrolytes. The NMR method allows accurate determination of T{sub Li} values, as indicated by the similarity of T{sub Li} in the gelled electrolytes to those in aqueous electrolyte solutions at low salt concentration. Based on calculated tradeoffs of various experimental parameters, they also discuss some conclusions concerning the range of applicability of the method to other electrolytes with lower lithium mobility
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Ion and water transport in a Nafion{reg_sign} membrane pore: A statistical mechanical model with molecular structure
With the well established importance of the coupling of water and protons through electroosmotic drag in operating PEFCs the authors present here a derivation of a mathematical model that focuses on the computation of the mobility of an hydronium ion through an arbitrary cylindrical pore of a PEM with a non-uniform charge distribution on the walls of the pore. The total Hamiltonian is derived for the hydronium ion as it moves through the hydrated pore and is effected by the net potential due to interaction with the solvent molecules and the pendant side chains. The corresponding probability density is derived through solution of the Liouville equation. This probability density is then used to compute the friction tensor for the hydronium ion. The authors find two types of contributions: (a) due to the solvent-ion interactions for which they adopt the conventional continuum model; (b) due to the interaction between the pendant charges and the hydronium ion. The latter is a new result and displays the role of the non-uniform nature of the charge distribution on the pore wall
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Solvation and Ionic Transport in Polymer Electrolyte Membranes
We developed a general theoretical framework to study the problem of proton solvation and transport in Nafion{reg_sign} and related materials
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PEM fuel cells for transportation and stationary power generation applications
We describe recent activities at LANL devoted to polymer electrolyte fuel cells in the contexts of stationary power generation and transportation applications. A low cost/high performance hydrogen or reformate/air stack technology is being developed based on ultralow Pt loadings and on non-machined, inexpensive elements for flow-fields and bipolar plates. On board methanol reforming is compared to the option of direct methanol fuel cells because of recent significant power density increases demonstrated in the latter
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Practical aspects of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR)
The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is quite sensitive to the details of the three phase interface at which the reaction occurs. We describe here studies of the ORR at a well-defined recast Nafion/Pt microelectrode interface, emphasizing the effects of temperature and humidification on the reaction rate. We compare our results to those obtained in thin film composite electrodes used in polymer electrolyte fuel cells
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Water transport properties of fuel cell ionomers
We will report transport parameters measured for several available perfluorosulfonate membranes. The water sorption characteristics, diffusion coefficient of water, electroosmotic drag, and conductivity will be compared for these materials. The intrinsic properties of the membranes will be the basis of our comparison. An objective look at transport parameters should enable us to compare membranes without the skewing effects of extensive features such as membrane thickness. 8 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs