Miniatuarised Fuel Cells from Biomass

Biomass will be converted into carbon materials with designed particle size and porosity during a hydrothermal process. After synthesis the resulting carbonaceous materials will be pressed or printed into freestanding disks.
One of the HTC disk will be then loaded with Fe and N precursor and further carbonised to yield Fe-N sites and become conductive. This will severe as the cathode-GDL of a fuel cell and will be electrochemically evaluated for its ORR ability using a rotating disk set. It will also be tested in a gas diffusion electrode configuration.
Another HTC disk will be impregnated with a PtCl2 solution and carbonised to yield Pt nanoparticles supported on conductive carbon. It will be electrochemically tested for its ability to oxidise methanol using a gas diffusion electrode.
The Pt/C and Fe-N-C disks will then be assembled at UCL in a real fuel cell configuration with Nafion in the middle and their performance evaluated using polarisation curves and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy.
We will thus develop miniaturised fuel cells for remote applications, i.e. powering a medical device in remote areas.

The production and processing of materials accounts for 15% of UK GDP and generates exports valued at £50bn annually, with UK materials related industries having a turnover of £197bn/year. It is, therefore, clear that the success of the UK economy is linked to the success of high value materials manufacturing, spanning a broad range of industrial sectors. In order to remain competitive and innovate in these sectors it is necessary to understand fundamental properties and critical processes at a range of length scales and dynamically and link these to the materials' performance. It is in this underpinning space that the CDT-ACM fits.

The impact of the CDT will be wide reaching, encompassing all organisations who research, manufacture or use advanced materials in sectors ranging from energy and transport to healthcare and the environment. Industry will benefit from the supply of highly skilled research scientists and engineers with the training necessary to advance materials development in all of these crucial areas. UK and international research facilities (Diamond, ISIS, ILL etc.) will benefit greatly from the supply of trained researchers who have both in-depth knowledge of advanced characterisation techniques and a broad understanding of materials and their properties. UK academia will benefit from a pipeline of researchers trained in state-of the art techniques in world leading research groups, who will be in prime positions to win prestigious fellowships and lectureships. From a broader perspective, society in general will benefit from the range of planned outreach activities, such as the Mary Rose Trust, the Royal Society Summer Exhibition and visits to schools. These activities will both inform the general public and inspire the next generation of scientists.

The cohort based training offered by the CDT-ACM will provide the next generation of research scientists and engineers who will pioneer new research techniques, design new multi-instrument workflows and advance our knowledge in diverse fields. We will produce 70 highly qualified and skilled researchers who will support the development of new technologies, in for instance the field of electric vehicles, an area of direct relevance to the UK industrial impact strategy.
In summary, the CDT will address a skills gap that has arisen through the rapid development of new characterisation techniques; therefore, it will have a positive impact on industry, research facilities and academia and, consequently, wider society by consolidating and strengthening UK leadership in this field.