VATIS UPDATE Article

An engineering team at Washington University, the United States, has developed a new way to take a look at the rate at which oxidation occurs. Using fluorescence spectroscopy inside the fuel cell, they are able to probe the formation of the chemicals responsible for the oxidation, namely free radicals, during operation.

The technique could be a game changer when it comes to understanding how the cells break down, and designing mitigation strategies that would extend the fuel cell’s lifetime. “If you buy a device – a car, a cell phone – you want it to last as long as possible,” said Vijay Ramani, the Roma B. and Raymond H. Wittcoff, at the School of Engineering & Applied Science.

The research is the first to utilize an in situ approach to examine the fuel cell’s inner membranes. A fluorescent dye is incorporated and used as a marker to ascertain the rate at which damaging free radicals are generated during operation.