Aspects of this disclosure pertain to catalyst compositions that include electrically conductive support particles; and metal catalyst particles attached to the electrically conductive support particles. The catalyst compositions may be used in cathodes of carbon oxide reduction electrolyzers.

A metal air battery includes an air electrode containing a conductive material and a catalyst, a negative electrode containing a metal, and an electrolyte having ionic conductivity. The conductive material contains a co-continuous body of a three-dimensional network structure in which nanostructure bodies are branched, and the catalyst contains oxide having a cage-shaped crystal structure.

Tubular ceramic structures, e.g., anode components of tubular fuel cells, are manufactured by applying ceramic-forming composition to the external surface of the heat shrinkable polymeric tubular mandrel component of a rotating mandrel-spindle assembly, removing the spindle from the assembly after a predetermined thickness of tubular ceramic structure has been built up on the mandrel and thereafter heat shrinking the mandrel to cause the mandrel to separate from the tubular ceramic structure.

Disclosed is a catalyst layer for a fuel cell that has good gas diffusion properties in the entire catalyst layer and in which coarsening of catalyst particles can be suppressed. The catalyst layer for a fuel cell includes fibrous conductive members and catalyst particles. The fibrous conductive members are inclined relative to the surface direction of the catalyst layer, and the length L of the fibrous conductive members and the thickness T of the catalyst layer satisfy the relational expression: L/T≤3. Each of the catalyst particles includes a core portion and a shell portion that covers the core portion, and contains a component different from that of the core portion.

The present disclosure relates to a composition that includes a fluoropolymer, a polymerized ionic liquid block copolymer (PILBC), and a catalyst, where the fluoropolymer is configured to affect ionic mobility, and the PILBC is configured to affect a property of the catalyst. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the property may include at least one of oxygen transport and/or an active site functionality of the catalyst.

The present invention provides a novel and improved metal-air battery in which a lot of catalyst can be disposed in a triple phase boundary, and further, battery properties can be improved. In the metal-air battery according to the present invention, a catalyst layer of an air electrode of a metal-air battery contains a catalyst element and a carbon material, the carbon material comprises two materials of a carbon material A supporting thereon the catalyst element and a carbon material B not supporting the catalyst element, the catalyst layer comprises an agglomerate X containing the catalyst element, the carbon material A and the carbon material B as main components and an agglomerate Y containing the carbon material B as a main component, and the agglomerate X is a continuum and the agglomerate Y is dispersed in the agglomerate X.

The present disclosure relates to methods for depositing vertically oriented carbon nanowalls (CNWs) using non-equilibrium gases such as gaseous plasma. Methods are disclosed for rapid deposition of uniformly distributed nanowalls on large surfaces of substrates using ablation of bulk carbon materials by reactive gaseous species, formation of oxidized carbon-containing gaseous molecules, ionization of said molecules and interacting said molecules, neutral or positively charged, with a substrate. The CNWs prepared are useful in different applications such as fuel cells, lithium ion batteries, photovoltaic devices and sensors of specific gaseous molecules.

Electrochemical cells, such as those present within flow batteries, can have at least one electrode with a density gradient in which the density increases outwardly from a separator. Such electrodes can decrease contact resistance and lessen the incidence of parasitic reactions in the electrochemical cell. Flow batteries containing the electrochemical cells can include: a first half-cell containing a first electrode, a second half-cell containing a second electrode, and a separator disposed between the first half-cell and the second half-cell. At least one of the first electrode and the second electrode has a density gradient such that a density of at least one of the first electrode and the second electrode increases outwardly from the separator.

Dual use gas diffusion-gas evolution electrodes containing diamond-like carbon are described, which can act as gas diffusion electrodes during discharge, and gas evolution electrodes during recharge. Electrodes of the disclosed materials are electrochemically robust, inhibit multi-step reactions, and have high, isotropic thermal conductivity. The disclosed electrodes can be used as air electrodes of rechargeable metal-air batteries.

Microbial fuel cells capable of generating energy from an organic-based fuel are described. The microbial fuel cells can include an anode component, a cathode component, and a separator component selected to reduce spacing between the anode and the cathode thereby improving performance of the microbial fuel cell. Cathode components including particular components that improve the lifetime, performance, and production of the cathode component at reduced cost also are described, as well as a method of using the microbial fuel cells.