In seeking to develop frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) systems as replacements for expensive and rare Pt metal in hydrogen fuel cells, we have made significant progress towards better understanding these new systems. In particular, and rather unexpectedly, we have developed a new class of Lewis acidic materials for use in energy storage devices (batteries and capacitors) that far exceeds the performance of related conventional materials.
We have furthered our understanding of how FLPs interact with hydrogen, and extended this from boron-based Lewis acid catalysts to carbon-based ones. Whilst we are only now able to begin testing prototype "frustrated" fuel cells at the completion of the project, the findings and discoveries made along the way to this point have been critical to the potential successful outcome, and have diversified the range of potential applications for this revlutionary new technology from energy generation (fuel cell) technologies to encompass energy storage technologies (batteries and supercapacitors) as well. The scope for using FLPs in energy applications has grown over the course of this 12 month project.
