Drawing inspiration from nature, the storage of Sun’s energy in chemical bonds has gained much attention. Hydrogen, which holds the highest energy density by weight, is considered a clean fuel producing only water upon combustion. However, H2 has low volumetric energy density, requiring storage under very high pressure or at cryogenic temperatures, posing considerable safety hazards due to its highly flammable and explosive nature. Safe storage and transportation of H2 is thus extremely challenging, hence economically and energetically costly. A practical solution is to store the H2 in chemical bonds. Methanol is a convenient liquid hydrogen carrier with a high loading of 12.5 wt% H2. The hydrogen stored in methanol can be liberated in the presence of a heterogeneous catalyst at high temperatures (&gt; 200 °C) in what is known as steam reforming. Herein, we present an efficient on-site hydrogen generator based on methanol dehydrogenation under alkaline conditions. Enabled by highly active molecular catalysts, rapid evolution of H2 is demonstrated at low temperatures under both closed and open reaction conditions. The reformer is coupled with a H2/O2 PEM fuel cell, into which the produced hydrogen is directly fed, without any purification exhibiting a stable and continuous conversion of chemical energy to electricity. The system is carbon neutral with clean H2 (&gt; 99.5% purity) free of any CO2/CO. This study is a key step to accelerate the shift toward a renewable and sustainable hydrogen economy.

Low temperature methanol reformer for rapid, emission-free and on-site hydrogen generation

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ACS Fall 2022

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