Ethylamine as a regenerative fuel for emission-free direct liquid fuel cell

Discovery of energy-dense and emission-free fuels for low-temperature fuel cell technology remains an important research theme to achieve efficient, clean electricity generation. In this study, we report the study of ethylamine as a regenerative fuel for emission-free fuel cells. The electrocatalytic ethylamine dehydrogenation reaction on commercial Pt catalyst under alkaline conditions exhibits fast reaction kinetics and produces acetonitrile as sole product, which can be readily hydrogenated back to ethylamine for reuse and thereby avoid CO2 emissions. By assembling and testing a direct ethylamine fuel cell, we demonstrate the capability of this regenerative fuel for clean electricity generation. The fuel cell performances are evaluated with different ethylamine fuel concentrations and operation temperatures and compared with other direct liquid fuel cells, highlighting promising prospects for utilizing ethylamine as a regenerative fuel in fuel cells for efficient and clean electricity generation.