Fuel Cell Car

Atoms and Subatomic Particles Atoms are composed of Protons, Neutrons, and Electrons Protons are positive, neutrons are neutral, and electrons are negatively charged Everything is made of atoms

+ Electrons that create the current and split the water molecules Resulting gases are pulled to separate tubes Electrolysis H Energy O O H H H - Opposites Attract O H H O H H

Chemical Equation for Electrolysis 2H 2 O  4e - + O 2 (g) + 4H + Net: 2H 2 O (l)  2H 2 (g) + O 2 (g) 4e - + 4H 2 O  4OH - + 2H 2 (g)

What is a PEM fuel cell? A Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell is a device which uses the chemical energy of hydrogen to cleanly and efficiently produce electricity with water and heat as byproducts.

Terms Anode: positive electrode Cathode: negative electrode Electrolyte: Membrane that separates the anode and cathode and blocks electrons Catalyst: Something that speeds up a chemical reaction

How does it work? Hydrogen is fed to the anode where a catalyst separates hydrogen's negatively charged electrons from positively charged protons At the cathode, oxygen combines with electrons and produces water The electrons from the anode cannot pass through the electrolyte to the positively charged cathode; they must travel around it via an electrical circuit to reach the other side of the cell. This movement of electrons is an electrical current.

Chemical Equation for Fuel Cell Anode Reaction: 2H 2 (g)  4e - + 4H + Overall Cell Reaction: 2H 2 (g) + O 2 (g)  2H 2 O (l) Cathode Reaction: O 2 (g) + 4e - + 4H +  2H 2 O

Fuel Cell Functions

Advantages Increased power intensity Environmentally friendly Recycled Fuel Energy needs to be used in order to create Easily contaminated Disadvantages