Kyle M Clark

US Patent:

20140106255, Apr 17, 2014

Filed:

Oct 11, 2013

Appl. No.:

14/052576

Inventors:

- Oakland CA, US
Xiaobing Zhu - Albany CA, US
Gi Suk Hwang - Albany CA, US
Zulima Hwang - Berkeley CA, US
Qinggang He - Culver City CA, US
Peter Driscoll - Methuen MA, US
Adam Weber - Pleasant Hill CA, US
Kyle Clark - Oakland CA, US

International Classification:

H01M 4/86

US Classification:

429482

Abstract:

Water soluble catalysts, (M)meso-tetra(N-Methyl-4-Pyridyl)Porphinepentachloride (M=Fe, Co, Mn & Cu), have been incorporated into the polymer binder of oxygen reduction cathodes in membrane electrode assemblies used in PEM fuel cells and found to support encouragingly high current densities. The voltages achieved are low compared to commercial platinum catalysts but entirely consistent with the behavior observed in electroanalytical measurements of the homogeneous catalysts. A model of the dynamics of the electrode action has been developed and validated and this allows the MEA electrodes to be optimized for any chemistry that has been demonstrated in solution. It has been shown that improvements to the performance will come from modifications to the structure of the catalyst combined with optimization of the electrode structure and a well-founded pathway to practical non-platinum group metal catalysts exists.