A cathode can include: an electrode substrate; a porphyrin precursor attached to the substrate; and an enzyme coupled to the electrode substrate to be associated with the porphyrin precursor, the enzyme reduces oxygen. The cathode can include a conductive material associated with the porphyrin precursor and/or the enzyme. The cathode can include 1-pyrenebutanoic acid, succinimidyl ester (PBSE) associated with the porphyrin precursor and/or the enzyme and/or the conductive material. The cathode can include 2,5-dimethyl-1-phenyl-1H-pyrrole-3-carbaldehyde (DMY-Carb) associated with the 1-pyrenebutanoic acid, succinimidyl ester (PBSE) and/or the porphyrin precursor and/or the enzyme and/or the conductive material. The porphyrin precursor is attached to the substrate through covalent coupling. In some aspects, substrate is linked to the porphyrin precursor, the porphyrin precursor is linked to the conductive material, the conductive material is linked to the PBSE, the PBSE is linked to the DMY-carb, and the DMY-carb is linked to the enzyme.

Disclosed is a method for producing a palladium-based permeation membrane which is suitable for the separation of hydrogen from gas-gas or liquid-gas mixtures. The permeation membrane is produced by applying a palladium complex, dissolved in a solvent, to a nanoporous support system having pores in a size range of from 0.5 nm to 50 nm, removing the solvent by drying, removing of organic constituents of the palladium complex by a heat treatment, and carrying out a final heat treatment under reducing conditions at a temperature ranging from about 300° C. to about 900° C.

Mesoporous carbon has a beaded structure in which primary particles with mesopores are linked. In the mesoporous carbon, an average primary particle size is 7 nm or more and 300 nm or less, a pore diameter is 2 nm or more and 10 nm or less, an average thickness of pore walls is 3 nm or more and 15 nm or less, a pore volume is 0.2 mL/g or more and 3.0 mL/g or less, and a tap density is 0.03 g/cm.sup.3 or more and 0.3 g/cm.sup.3 or less. In a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, the mesoporous carbon is used as a catalyst carrier for at least an air electrode catalyst layer. The mesoporous carbon can be obtained by impregnating mesoporous silica satisfying a predetermined condition with a carbon source, performing polymerization and carbonization, and removing a template.

A preparation method for a novel composite anode based on nitrogen-doped charcoal of sludge and porous volcanic, and a microbial fuel cell, relating to the technical field of resource utilization of new materials, new energy and wastewater. Active sludge is prepared into porous nitrogen-doped charcoal by using a nitrogen high-temperature pyrolysis baking method; and then, surface minerals are removed by using an acidification method to improve the electrical conductivity of the charcoal; finally, surface charcoal loading is performed by taking volcanic granules as a carrier to prepare and form nitrogen-doped charcoal granules on a volcanic surface. The novel granules have high porosity, high electrical conductivity and large specific surface area, and fully meet the performance requirement of the anode material of the microbial fuel cell. The anode of the novel nitrogen-doped porous charcoal can increase the loading capacity of electricity-producing bacteria and microorganisms of the anode of the microbial fuel cell, and improve the conversion rate of biomass energy in wastewater; by virtue of low-resistance characteristics, the electron transfer efficiency is also improved, and finally, the power of the microbial fuel cell is enhanced, so that both wastewater treatment and recycling and efficient biological power generation are achieved.

A membrane-electrode assembly, a method for manufacturing the membrane-electrode assembly, and a fuel cell including the membrane-electrode assembly are disclosed. The membrane-electrode assembly includes: an ion exchange membrane; catalyst layers disposed on both sides of the ion exchange membrane respectively; and a functional modification layer disposed between the ion exchange membrane and each of the catalyst layers. The membrane-electrode assembly has a low hydrogen permeability without a reduction of hydrogen ion conductivity, has excellent interfacial bonding properties between the catalyst layers and the ion exchange membrane, and has excellent performance and durability under high temperature/low humidity conditions.

A CoVO.sub.x composite electrode and method of making is described. The composite electrode comprises a substrate with an average 0.5-5 m thick layer of CoVO.sub.x having pores with average diameters of 2-200 nm. The method of making the composite electrode involves contacting the substrate with an aerosol comprising a solvent, a cobalt complex, and a vanadium complex. The CoVO.sub.x composite electrode is capable of being used in an electrochemical cell for water oxidation.

A method of forming a fuel cell catalyst system, the method includes providing an anticorrosive, conductive catalyst support material having oxygen vacancies and a formula (I):

MgTi.sub.2O.sub.5-(I),

where .sub. is any number between 0 and 3 optionally including a fractional part denoting the oxygen vacancies, coating the catalyst support material with a polymeric film, attaching a catalyst material onto the polymeric film, removing the polymeric film, and providing additional material onto the support material to increase physical, electrical, and/or mechanical contact between the catalyst material and the catalyst support material.

A membrane electrode assembly includes an electrolyte membrane stacked between different electrodes, wherein an ionomer layer of the electrolyte membrane comprises an adjacent electrode, a first layer having at least a same cross-sectional area as that of the adjacent electrode, a reinforcing layer and a second layer stacked at a side of the first layer, the second layer having at least the same cross-sectional area as that of the reinforcing layer.

A redox flow battery may include: a membrane interposed between a first electrode positioned at a first side of the membrane and a second electrode positioned at a second side of the membrane opposite to the first side; a first flow field plate comprising a plurality of positive flow field ribs, each of the plurality of positive flow field ribs contacting the first electrode at first supporting regions on the first side; and the second electrode, including an electrode spacer positioned between the membrane and a second flow field plate, the electrode spacer comprising a plurality of main ribs, each of the plurality of main ribs contacting the second flow field plate at second supporting regions on the second side, each of the second supporting regions aligned opposite to one of the plurality of first supporting regions. As such, a current density distribution at a plating surface may be reduced.

Disclosed are a method of manufacturing an anode dual catalyst for a fuel cell so as to prevent a reverse voltage phenomenon and a dual catalyst manufactured by the same. The method may include supporting effectively metal catalyst particles and oxide particles on a conductive support, and thus, a dual catalyst manufactured using the method may be suitably used for controlling a reverse voltage phenomenon that occurs at the anode.