Developing and Implementing a Simple, Affordable Hydrogen Fuel Cell Laboratory in Introductory Chemistry

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• 作者：Kristina Klara ; Ning Hou ; Allison Lawman ; Liheng Wu ; Drew Morrill ; Alfred Tente ; Li-Qiong Wang
• 刊名：Journal of Chemical Education
• 出版年：2014
• 出版时间：November 11, 2014
• 年：2014
• 卷：91
• 期：11
• 页码：1924-1928
• 全文大小：231K
• ISSN：1938-1328

文摘

A simple, affordable hydrogen proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell laboratory was developed through a collaborative effort between faculty and undergraduate students at Brown University. It has been incorporated into the introductory chemistry curriculum and successfully implemented in a class of over 500 students per academic year for over 3 years. This laboratory involves a PEM fuel cell that uses hydrogen gas to power a small cell phone vibrator and a model car. The lab highlights electrochemical and thermodynamic concepts while illuminating how hydrogen fuel cells generate clean energy without polluting the environment. Hydrogen fuel is generated by the in situ electrolysis of water, and the chemical energy of the fuel and oxidant is then converted into electrical energy that can do work. A circuit board with a mini cell phone vibrator and a resistor built onto a model fuel cell car enables students to make a series of electrical measurements in addition to observing the car or mini cell phone vibrator run. Through simple electric measurements, thermodynamic parameters such as Gibbs鈥檚 free energy and the efficiency of the hydrogen fuel cell can be calculated. This laboratory is designed to spark students鈥?interest and to expose them to a real-world application of electrochemistry.

Keywords:

High School/Introductory Chemistry; First-Year Undergraduate/General; Laboratory Instruction; Hands-On Learning/Manipulatives; Electrochemistry; Electrolytic/Galvanic Cells/Potentials; Green Chemistry; Collaborative/Cooperative Learning; Laboratory Equipment/Apparatus