It seems the long-term future of fossil fuels is bleak. One promising solution scientists have been studying is fuel cells, but they've had limitations too. Now, in the April 19 issue of the science journal Nature, the California Institute of Technology's Sossina M. Haile reports on a new type of fuel cell that may resolve these problems. Unlike the engines in our cars, where a fuel is burned and expanding gases do the work, a fuel cell converts chemical energy directly into electrical energy.
Fuel cells are pollution free, and silent.
An electrolyte is a chemical that can conduct electricity, and is at the heart of the fuel cell. Polymer electrolytes must be humidified in order for the fuel cell to function, can only operate over a limited temperature range, and are permeable. As a consequence, polymer electrolyte fuel cell systems require many auxiliary components and are less efficient than other types of fuel cells. Solid acids can conduct electricity at similar values to polymers, they don't need to be hydrated, and they can function at high temperatures, up to 250 degrees Centigrade. Solid acids are also typically inexpensive compounds that are easy to manufacture.