Chuancheng Duan, Liangzhu Zhu, Zehua Pan, Jake Huang, Robert Kee, Robert Braun, Neal Sullivan^b, Ryan O’Hayre^a

a. Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden CO;

b. Mechanical Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO.

Abstract

Fuel cells provide one of the most efficient means for converting the chemical energy stored in a fuel to electrical energy.  Fuel cells offer improved energy efficiency and reduced pollution compared to heat engines.  A complete fuel cell system amounts to a small chemical plant for the production of power. The first half of this lecture provides students with an introduction to the fundamental aspects of fuel cell operating principles, devices, systems, and applications. The second part of this lecture will introduce students to recent exciting advancements in fuel cell and related electrochemical devices based on emerging proton-conducting ceramic materials. Compared to more mature polymeric and oxygen-ion conducting materials and devices, protonic-ceramic devices are far less mature. However, because they can enable proton-mediated electrochemistry under both dry and wet environments at moderate temperatures, protonic ceramics provide unique opportunities to enhance or synergize a diverse range of electrochemical and thermochemical processes. Because of this potential, significant efforts have been devoted to advancing numerous energy-related applications using these materials. To this end, we will review recent research efforts at the Colorado School of Mines focused on developing protonic ceramics for several applications, including hydrocarbon-tolerant protonic ceramic fuel cells for electricity generation (PCFCs), protonic ceramic electrolyzers for fuel synthesis (PCECs), and reversible protonic-ceramic electrochemical cells for energy storage (RePCECs).

Biography

Prof. O’Hayre’s group at the Colorado School of Mines develops new materials and devices to enable alternative energy technologies, with a particular focus on ceramic fuel cells and electrolyzers. Current fundamental research interests extend to aspects of high-temperature catalysis, electrochemistry, solid-state-ionics, electronic and ionic oxides.  Prof. O’Hayre is lead author of Fuel Cell Fundamentals, the world’s best-selling textbook on fuel cell science and technology (translated into both Chinese and Korean) and has published >160 peer-reviewed publications in the field, including papers in Science and Nature, as well as several patents and book chapters. He has received several young-investigator research and teaching honors including the 2009 Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering (PECASE), the US’s top honor for early-career scientists and engineers. Since 2022, he serves as University Distinguished Professor at the Colorado School of Mines.