Better fuel cells can be made with flawed graphene, say researchers

Graphene is one of the wonder materials of the 21st century. It is impossibly thin, down to just one atom thick, it detects light better than any sensor, is stronger than steel but highly flexible and a better conductor of currents than copper.

In a pristine shape, graphene has a beautiful honeycomb pattern. Unfortunately there is not, yet, an inexpensive way to make cheap pristine graphene but as it turns out, perfection isn’t all its cracked up to be.

According to researchers from Northwestern University, one of the problems in fuel cell technology has been separating protons from hydrogen. The researchers found that using single layer graphene and water, slight imperfections in the graphene allows protons, and only protons, to move from one side to the other.

The speed and selectivity of the imperfect graphene membrane offers a simpler and more efficient mechanism for fuel cell design.

“Imagine an electric car that charges in the same time it takes to fill a car with gas and better yet — imagine an electric car that uses hydrogen as fuel, not fossil fuels or ethanol, and not electricity from the power grid, to charge a battery. Our surprising discovery provides an electrochemical mechanism that could make these things possible one day,” said chemist Franz M. Geiger, who led the research in a statement.

According to the team, single layer one-atom thick graphene could produce the world’s thinnest photon channel.

“We found if you just dial the graphene back a little on perfection, you will get the membrane you want. Everyone always strives to make really pristine graphene, but our data show if you want to get protons through, you need less perfect graphene,” said Geiger, a professor of chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.

The study will be published March 17 by the journal Nature Communications.

Electric car sales in the US set a record in 2014 with roughly 118,500 vehicles sold. However that remains only a tiny fraction of the 16.5 million vehicles sold in the US last year.

A variety of things are believed to be holding back sales of electric vehicles including low production, high costs and a lack of charging stations in some areas. With charging locations for electric vehicles being less convenient, albeit much less expensive, than gas stations, there is a focus on making batteries that last longer on a charge. If drivers can go further without refueling, or in this chase recharging, then the distance between charges isn’t as much of an issue.

Home batteries, using essentially the same technology as electric cars. Batteries, made by Tesla which can power the average home for a week, are expected to hit the market later this year.