NEW FLUORINATED CARBON MATERIALS FOR FUEL CELLS AND BATTERIES

Overview

The proposed project is focused on launching the mass production of new carbon materials for wide range of batteries and fuel cells that could increase their capacity and efficiencysignificantly.

This materials are synthesized by innovative CVD technique － Soft Fluorination Method for Carbon Materials. This Technology is suitable for wide range of raw carbon materials: active carbons, nanotubes, carbon black, graphene, coke, carbon fibers and other carbon materials.

The project is based on scientific research that was already done and completed.As a result our team has developed and verified in laboratory conditions and tested in real environment new fluorinated carbon materials.

We propose two basic materials familypurposed:

Family Fthat is Soft Fluorinated carbons with fluorine content up to 15% by weight, that contain fluorine in a form of fluor-organic functional groups (e. g. -CF3 and =CF2) and can be obtained without any "semi-ionic" fluorine;

Family S－ carbon materials, that was obtained on a base of Soft Fluorinated carbons, further modified with sulfur compounds, that contain a grafted superacid functionality up to 1.35 mmol/g, probably with the most acid power within functional materials.

Both F and S families save advantages of carbons: high surface area, excellent chemical and thermal stability, electrical and thermal conductivity and many other.

Verification results are as follows:

1. By XPS, 19F-NMR MAS, FTIR spectrometry methods it was confirmed, that this materials contain chemically grafted fluorine containing groups to a surface layer of carbon, and by chemical analysis it was shown high content of grafted fluorine (5 mmol/g - 10% w. at present time);
2. By thermogravimetric method (conjugated with TPD-Mass method) it was shown an excellent thermal stability of obtained materials, and for S family was shown content of SO2-cites up to 0.8–1.2 mmol/g;

1. By catalytic tests in a model reaction of i-PrOH dehydration it was shown a superior catalytic activity and stability of S materials in the catalysis condition, compared to Nafion® H resin;
2. By impedance measurements it was shown, that fluorinated carbon fibers (CFs) have a low resistance up to 10% in a contrast with CFs treated without fluorination, it's true for different CFs types with specific BET surface from 5 to 1260 m2/g;
3. By low-temperature Ar adsorption it was established that Technology can control porosity and specific surface area of carbons: at low fluorine load (about 0.1 mmol/g) specific surface can be even increased in contrast with initial carbon, and at high fluorine load we can obtain a material with a mediate specific surface and porosity (may be useful for catalytic application);
4. By EIS (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) it was demonstrated, that surface of fluorinated samples of Norit® 830W microporous carbon show energy capacity up to 40% higher than surface of the initial carbon in a model system with alkaline electrolyte as electrode for supercapacitors even in aqueous media. Primary tests in nonaqueous medium, that modeling LiIon battery show increasing of anode capacity too.
5. Our samples demonstrate other valuable properties, as high hydrophobicity, nonusual nonlinear optical response, and other; now we provide different tests for our samples, including electrochemical (as LiIon battery anode, adhesive, sorption and other tests in communication with scientific groups from Germany, Slovakia and Ukraine.

Our product allows switching to new era of fuel cells and rechargeable batteries use.

• Fuel cells are singularly remarkable in their potential for efficiently converting the energy locked up in chemical bonds to electrical energy. This efficiency is achieved because fuel cells convert the chemical energy contained in a fuel into electrical energy in a single step, extracting more useful energy from the same amount of fuel than any other known device. Fuel cells can deliver at least 40% of converting efficiency at the moment. Moreover, if a fuel cells exhaust heat is exploited, total efficiency could be much higher. Our project will fulfill the need.

• Fuel cells most commonly use hydrogen to generate electricity, but can use various other fuels, including gasoline, natural gas, ethanol, and methanol. Because of their efficiency, fuel cells using carbon-based fuels create less carbon dioxide and no other emissions, such as nitrogen oxide, that would harm the earth’s atmosphere.

• In the long run, fuel cell technology has the potential to give individual citizens the ability to generate clean electricity at home. Fuel cell technology can insure the development of new energy supply systems, new transportation systems, and industrial and manufacturing systems around the globe.

Intellectual property status

Patent already applied for

Patent application number :

Where : USA

Other forms of protection

Trademark

Granted Patent

Patent number :

Where : USA

Current development status

Finished technologies

Desired business relationship

Joint ventures

Technology development

New technology applications

Adaptation of technology to other markets

Other : Combining resources for of fuel cells production based on our technology