Nanocrystals could lead to more viable alternative energy

A team of UC Davis professors has made a major advance in fuel cell research. The researchers, led by UC Davis professors Zuhair Munir, Umberto Anselmi-Tamburini and Sangtae Kim, have developed a way to make fuel cells more efficient by using nanocrystals.

The discovery has been recognized by the magazine Nanotech Briefs and was included in the journal’s Nano50 awards for 2007, which identifies technologies, products and people likely to impact the field of nanotechnology.
Fuel cell technology currently requires that they run at very high temperatures, usually 1,500 to 1,800 F (800 to 1,000 C). This presents a problem because just reaching those temperatures requires a significant expenditure of energy, and the intense heat means that metal, plastic and ceramic components wear out quickly.

The team invented a way to create oxides with extremely small grain sizes. An oxide is a chemical compound containing an oxygen atom and other elements.

The smaller the grain particles in the components, the more transfer of electricity between grains, said Navrotsky. Because there is more energy transfer between the oxide particles, less heat is required to make the process work. This could potentially lower the minimum required temperature to 122 to 212 F (50 to 100 C).

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