Enzymatic fuel cell

Abstract

Provided is a battery comprising a first compartment, a second compartment and a barrier separating the first and second compartments, wherein the barrier comprises a proton transporting moiety.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to batteries, including fuel cells and re-chargeable fuel cells, for use in powering electrical devices. [0002] Batteries such as fuel cells are useful for the direct conversion of chemical energy into electrical energy. Fuel cells are typically made up of three chambers separated by two porous electrodes. A fuel chamber serves to introduce a fuel, typically hydrogen gas, which can be generated in situ by “reforming” hydrocarbons such as methane with steam, so that the hydrogen contacts H2O at the first electrode, where, when a circuit is formed between the electrodes, a reaction producing electrons and hydronium (H3O+) ions is catalyzed. 2H2O+H22H3O++2e−  (1) A central chamber can comprise an electrolyte. The central chamber acts to convey hydronium ions from the first electrode to the second electrode. The second electrode provides an interface with a recipient molecule, typically oxygen, found in the third chamber. The recipient molecule rece...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0004] These types of fuel cells typically operate at temperatures from about 80° C. to about 1,000° C. The shortcomings of the technology include short operational lifetimes due to catalyst poisoning from contaminants, high initial costs, and the practical restrictions on devices that operate at relatively high to extremely high temperatures.

[0005] The present invention provides a fuel cell technology that employs molecules used in biological processes to create fuel cells that operate at moderate temperatures and without the presence of harsh chemicals maintained at high temperatures, which can lead to corrosion of the cell components. While the fuel used in the fuel cells of the invention are more complex, they are readily available and suitably priced for a number of applications, such as power supplies for mobile computing or telephone devices. It is anticipated that fuel cells of the invention can be configured such that a 300 cc cell has a capacity of as much as 80 W·h—and thus can have more capacity than a comparably sized battery for a laptop computer—and that such cells could have still greater capacity. Thus, it is believed that the fuel cells of the invention can be used to increase capacity, and / or decrease size and / or weight. Moreover, the compact, inert energy sources of the invention can be used to provide short duration electrical output. Since the materials retained within the fuel cells are non-corrosive and typically not otherwise hazardous, it is practical to recharge the fuel cells with fuel, with the recharging done by the consumer or through a service such as a mail order service.

Problems solved by technology

These types of fuel cells typically operate at temperatures from about 80° C. to about 1,000° C. The shortcomings of the technology include short operational lifetimes due to catalyst poisoning from contaminants, high initial costs, and the practical restrictions on devices that operate at relatively high to extremely high temperatures.

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