WFU Physics Colloquium

TITLE: New electrolytes for batteries and fuel cells

SPEAKER: Professor Stephen Creager ,

TIME: Wednesday* September 9, 2009 at 4:00 PM

PLACE: Room 126 in Winston Hall*

*Note the unusual day of the week and location

Batteries, fuel cells and capacitors are electrical energy storage devices that are being aggressively developed for use in a wide range of portable and other applications requiring electric power. Devices in all three categories are inherently electrochemical, and device performance hinges upon the functional materials used to prepared the device. Of particular interest are the electrolytes, which provide a pathway for ions (usually protons in the case of a hydrogen fuel cell) to move between electrodes while also preventing the electrodes from touching and also the fuel and oxidant (usually hydrogen and oxygen in the case of a hydrogen fuel cell) from mixing. This lecture will present introductory material on energy storage in batteries and fuel cells and discuss needs for advanced functional materials to improve device performance. This material will be followed by an overview of recent work at Clemson on new electrolytes for hydrogen fuel cells. Some brief discussion of biological fuel cells which utilize bacterial biofilms on electrodes to accomplish fuel conversion to electrical energy will also be presented.