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Pitch

Joint development of low-cost Room-temperature DNA or pheophytin-catalyzed fuel cells may give us an epoch-making change. All are welcome!


Description

Summary

At the time of severe threat from the greatly changing climate, putting our current resources into the development of a new energy alternative --using DNA all around -- might offer a new environmentally-friendly opportunity.

Here, for the first time, we experimentally found that both pheophytin (or pheo, chlorophyll without the central Mg ion) and DNA outperformed Pt (platinum) in the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) -- key catalyzed reaction in a fuel cell. Further, the drawback of traditional low voltage of a single Pt-fuel cell can be improved by proper workfunction engineering, as demonstrated below (*). More importantly, there is big difference in the material cost. For further details please check out all relevant articles in the link below:

ResearchGate page: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Chungpin_Liao/--> For the relevant paper and supplemental materials.

Normally, fuel cells are believed to work better at high temperature. However, this is true only when “combined cycle” is considered, namely, when steam generator produced electricity from high temperature fuel cell gas release is taken into account. In fact, unlike heat engines, fuel cells offer highest electricity production efficiency (> 80 %) at low temperature (80-100 C), if not for the CO-rendered poisoning effect on the Pt catalyst. Here, pheo and DNA seem to be insusceptible to such undesirable effect, according to our 1st-principle quantum mechanics simulations.

Of course, the needed hydrogen gas can, for example, come from steam reforming of the much abundant natural gas, and now without the stringent low-CO requirement on related facilities.

Though pheo and DNA likely will be aged in time, a continuous operating mode, in principle, can be arranged in a very low cost manner.

To sum up, low-temperature (even room temperature) pheo- or DNA-catalyzed hydrogen fuel cells, and such generated electricity, can be a new promising way leading away from traditional way of  using crude oil.


What actions do you propose?

Setup of a new novel project of all MIT alumni

It is suggest that a lab project be established among the 8 MIT projects to be erected by MIT, on the same funding level. It can be erected through the donation of all interested alumni. The aims would include: engineering phase of the proposed dry DNA cells, and replacement of the DuPont's Nafion film, etc.

How, Why, and What of the proposed new possible energy generator

Motivated by a previous success in identifying key features on pheophytin (pheo) from plants responsible for the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen gas, similar suggestive clues were found within generic DNA’s of all living beings on earth. Verified by the 1st-principle quantum mechanical simulations and subsequent wet and dry hydrogen fuel cell experiments, the feasibility of room-temperature DNA-catalyzed hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) was unambiguously evidenced. In other words, though still in the development stage, very low-cost DNA-catalyzed fuel cells, containing no platinum on the negative electrode side, may be practically put to work under room condition and thus might be easily available in every household in the very near future. 

The detailed theory, simulation, and how a simple, cheap fuel cell sheet can be made (using pork liver DNA) can all be found in:https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Chungpin_Liao 

The source of DNA can come from any living tissues, such as algae, general dropped tree leaves, etc.