Li Chunfeng, Li Danning, Li Lubing, Yang Haozhou, Zhang Yan, Su Jinzhan, Wang Lei, Liu Bin
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117585, Singapore.
International Research Center for Renewable Energy & State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China.
Adv Mater. 2025 May;37(18):e2500416. doi: 10.1002/adma.202500416. Epub 2025 Mar 20.
Regenerative fuel cells hold significant potential for efficient, large-scale energy storage by reversibly converting electrical energy into hydrogen and vice versa, making them essential for leveraging intermittent renewable energy sources. However, their practical implementation is hindered by the unsatisfactory efficiency. Addressing this challenge requires the development of cost-effective electrocatalysts. In this study, a carbon nanotube (CNT)-supported RuNi composite with low Ru loading is developed as an efficient and stable catalyst for alkaline hydrogen and oxygen electrocatalysis, including hydrogen evolution, oxygen evolution, hydrogen oxidation, and oxygen reduction reaction. Furthermore, a regenerative fuel cell using this catalyst composite is assembled and evaluated under practical relevant conditions. As anticipated, the system exhibits outstanding performance in both the electrolyzer and fuel cell modes. Specifically, it achieves a low cell voltage of 1.64 V to achieve a current density of 1 A cm for the electrolyzer mode and delivers a high output voltage of 0.52 V at the same current density in fuel cell mode, resulting in a round-trip efficiency (RTE) of 31.6% without further optimization. The multifunctionality, high activity, and impressive RTE resulted by using the RuNi catalyst composites underscore its potential as a single catalyst for regenerative fuel cells.
再生燃料电池通过将电能可逆地转化为氢气，反之亦然，在高效大规模储能方面具有巨大潜力，使其成为利用间歇性可再生能源的关键。然而，其实际应用受到效率不尽人意的阻碍。应对这一挑战需要开发具有成本效益的电催化剂。在本研究中，开发了一种低钌负载的碳纳米管（CNT）负载钌镍复合材料，作为用于碱性氢和氧电催化的高效稳定催化剂，包括析氢、析氧、氢氧化和氧还原反应。此外，组装了使用这种催化剂复合材料的再生燃料电池，并在实际相关条件下进行了评估。正如预期的那样，该系统在电解槽和燃料电池模式下均表现出出色的性能。具体而言，在电解槽模式下，它实现了1.64 V的低电池电压以达到1 A/cm²的电流密度，在燃料电池模式下，在相同电流密度下提供了0.52 V的高输出电压，在无需进一步优化的情况下实现了31.6%的往返效率（RTE）。使用钌镍催化剂复合材料所带来的多功能性、高活性和令人印象深刻的RTE突出了其作为再生燃料电池单一催化剂的潜力。
