Development of a direct fuel cell for the perhydrodibenzyltoluene/dibenzyltoluene fuel pair

In this work we address the problem that there are currently no optimized membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) for direct fuel cells for truck applications that dehydrogenate perhydrobenzyltoluene (HDBT) to dibenzyltoluene (DBT) in a reversible fashion. Solving this problem will be a crucial for the development of a direct fuel for the perhydrodibenzyltoluene/dibenzyltoluene fuel pair. The accomplishment of this task will make the use of H2 gas redundant and will eliminate all safety and infrastructure problems associated with the use of hydrogen gas as a fuel for fuel cells. This includes the problem of hydrogen gas generation from liquid organic hydrogen carriers which adds capital cost and reduces the effective fuel value of hydrogen gas by ca. 30%. The anticipated HDBT-to-DBT direct fuel cell will be a high-temperature fuel cell ((~180 C) allowing of effective use of fuel cell waste heat for co-generation applications, e.g. the heating or cooling of the passenger cabin of a truck. Within the proposed work (phase I) we aim to address this problem by the development of a new catalyst layer which is optimized for the HDBT/DBT fuel pair. In particular we aim at the employment of platinum nanoframe-based catalyst layers that are interfaced with phosphoric acid doped polybenzimidazole membranes. We will synthesize Co-Pt platinum nanoframes that have already shown promise in electrocatalytic C-H bond activation, characterize the nanoframes structurally and electrochemically, and prepare carbon-black catalyst layers of the nanoframes on phosphoric acid-doped polybenzimidazole membranes. We will measure achievable power densities achievable with membrane- electrode assemblies that contain the catalyst layers. The obtained power densities will be referenced to a techno-economic analysis that will calculate the required power densities for the economic viability of the membrane electrode assemblies relative to hydrogen-gas powered fuel cells. If carried over to phase II and beyond, the project will lay the foundation for a new, broadly applicable hydrogen-based energy storage technology for transportation (including truck applications) and grid applications. In contrast to hydrogen gas based hydrogen technologies, our technology is non-disruptive and requires far less safety precautions. The fuel pair for our technology has a similar energy density compared to compressed hydrogen gas technologies suggesting similar driving ranges for trucks and other vehicular applications.