Publication date: 11-January-2004
Source:Far Eastern Review 

Fuel cells have huge potential as alternative energy sources, but because they use platinum they are too expensive for widespread use. Han could have an answer. He's created a new carbon material called "carbon nanocoils." This new form of carbon conducts electricity so well that it reduces the need for platinum--and the cost of fuel cells.

In a recent paper Han reports.."Direct methanol fuel cells(DMFC's), which use methanol directly as their fuel, have been studied extensively because of their many advantages including a high-energy density, the ease of handling a liquid, low operating temperatures, and possible applications as micro fuel cells. Carbon is an important material in fuel cells, particularly in low-temperature fuel cells such as a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells and DMFC's because of its electronic cunductivity, corrosion resistance and low cost. This paper reports the synthesis of hollow graphitic nanoparticles with high crystallinity form a simple heat treatment of a mixture containing a cheap polymeric precursor and a metal salt. In addition these hollow grpahitic nanoparticles were successfully used as a catalyst supprot for DMFC electrodes. Hollow graphitic nanoparticles are often produces as by-products during the synbthesis of carbon nano-tubes."

"When hollow graphitic nanoparticles were used as catalysts supports for DMFC electrodes, the current density and power density of catalyst supported on the hollow graphitic nanoparticles were higher than those of a commercial catalyst.."