Improved Asbestos Matrices for Alkaline Fuel Cells

Hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells have a good potential for use either alone or with other “batteries” to form a hybrid power supply for certain automotive uses. One of the drawbacks in the use of the hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell is corrosive effect that the potassium hydroxide electrolyte has upon the interior of the cell, particularly the asbestos matrix separation.

The purpose of this study was to determine how to increase the present operating temperature of this cell (<100°C) by increasing the corrosion resistance of matrix material. Two methods of reducing the potassium hydroxide-asbestos reaction were found and are described in this paper.