Metal-Organic Frameworks as Materials for Fuel Cell Technologies

Abstract

The dwindling reserves of hydrocarbon fuel resources and the associated environmental impact of burning fossil fuels have led to the search for clean and sustainable energy technologies. Hydrogen is widely considered as a promising alternative to fossil-based fuels because it is clean, has high energy content, and it can potentially be derived from water, which is abundantly available. Fuel cells are a key component of the hydrogen energy value chain where their role is to convert the chemical energy of hydrogen into electrical energy. In the hydrogen energy value chain, hydrogen production and storage are critical enabling technologies for fuel cells. The future of the Hydrogen Economy faces significant challenges which must be overcome before its realisation. Therefore, considerable research is currently directed at finding efficient, safe and affordable materials for fuel cells and their enabling technologies. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a class of organic-inorganic hybrid crystalline solids, are promising materials for these technologies due to their many distinct characteristics including a wide structural diversity, low weight, extraordinarily high surface areas, large free volumes, and tunable pore sizes and functionalities. This chapter presents an overview of MOFs as potential materials for fuel cell components i.e. polymer electrolyte membrane and electrocatalysts, and enabling technologies for fuel cells i.e. hydrogen production and storage. Although significant progress in research has been made there are still challenges to overcome for the practical use of MOFs in these technologies.