A high-temperature anion-exchange membrane fuel cell with a critical raw material-free cathode

Abstract

We present a first high-temperature anion-exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-AEMFC, operating at 105 °C) based on a critical raw material (CRM)-free cathode catalyst; at the same temperature, the anion-exchange membrane (AEM) has a high ex-situ hydroxide conductivity value of 201 mS cm−1. Our HT-AEMFC, containing a highly active nitrogen-doped carbon (N-doped-C) cathode catalyst, also features low polarization resistances, high catalytic activity and stability, with retention of 81% of the catalyst layer capacitance after an initial 10 h longevity test, and delivery of a peak power of 1.14 W cm−2. This is one of the highest power densities reported for an AEMFC containing a CRM-free cathode. This work shows the potential of the new field of HT-AEMFCs, opening opportunities for developing and using novel CRM-free catalysts that are highly active at these high operating temperatures.

Keywords

• Anion-exchange membrane fuel cells
• HT-AEMFC
• Critical raw materials-free
• PGM-free
• oxygen reduction reaction
• N-doped-C