autoevolution
 

New Graphene Property to Boost Fuel Cell Cars Efficiency

Better get used to be living in the Graphene Age soon, because this wonder material promises to solve a lot of problems. Next in line? Hydrogen fuel cells, which will become more efficient thanks to the 1-atom layer of carbon and its newly discovered property.
graphene 1 photo
Photo: wikimedia
The big news come from Nobel prize winner Andre Geim (also the creator of stable graphene) and his team at the University of Manchester. According to their new study published in the Nature journal, graphene can actually let some atoms and molecules pass the thin layer.

Up until now, graphene was considered impermeable to anything, even hydrogen which is the smallest of atoms. But that is happening only under ambient conditions. Heat up the layer of carbon up to 250 degrees C (482 F) and hydrogen protons are allowed to squeeze in through the array.

The finding might lead to fuel cell improvements, where it could act as a proton-conducting membrane. This might eliminate the problem of fuel leaks, which are associated with fuel cell efficiency decrease. Thus future fuel cell vehicles will make the most out of the hydrogen stored in their tanks and take you further.

More than that, this could also lead to developing new hydrogen extraction technologies, which should be able to get the thing directly from the atmosphere. Sounds even better. Imagine a house with low-power consumption getting powered by a small generator feeding from the air.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories