Jean,
>Sources say there has been big breakthrough with CF Pd-Rh
alloys.
Aha... ! Is it merely coincidental - or were you considering
Pd-Rh alloy for the MAHG?
At least, something "close" to this was conclusion was also
arrived at by me recently, based on a wide study of the
literature of the hydrogen properties of what is available
for use as electrodes - but substituting the next element in
the periodic table - i.e. Ruthenium instead of Rhodium.
Just based upon the numbers, it looks to me like a roughly
50-50 alloy of Pd and Ru is the best choice for MAHG - but
then again - I am assuming a non-nuclear anomaly, while I
suspect that you are considering a LENR effect. It will be
interesting to see...
... and the best news about Pd-Ru alloy is - that despite
whatever claims are made by others - the use of Pd-Ru in a
hydrogen cell was patented in 1982 and that IP has long
since expired.
>From the Kujas patent: "Negative hydrogen electrode
comprising an alloy palladium and ruthenium" United States
Patent #4,460,660 1982
"it is evident that, in such a cell, the hydrogen can only
be converted into electrical power by means of the catalyst
in the catalytic electrode. It follows that the efficiency
and durability of the catalyst is frequently the determining
factor of the useful life of such a fuel cell.
Conventionally, the catalyst in such electrodes is generally
an alloy of two or more metals including at least one noble
metal such as platinum, ruthenium, niobium or the like."
"It is known that, in such cells, these catalyst materials
can be poisoned by coming in contact with, e.g. copper in
the electrolyte, or nickel which has broken away from the
anode. Another hazard to the catalyst electrode in a
nickel/hydrogen fuel cell is overconcentration of the
electrolyte at higher polarization which results in
electrolyte salt crystal formation on the catalyst surface.
Any of these phenomena will significantly decrease the
potential of the cell resulting in loss of operating
efficiency for the vehicle containing it."
In the literature pertaining to nickel-hydrogen fuel cells,
palladium is not included among the noble metals suggested
as catalytic materials. There are several reasons for this.
Palladium is very sensitive to the above-mentioned
phenomena, **particularly poisoning by copper.**
[side note: is this why LENR cells are erratic -
self-poisoning?}
"A pure palladium catalyst can be poisoned by amounts of
copper measurable in angstroms."
[side note #2 - copper is the most common transmutation
product of LENR - that is pretty clear. If Kujas is correct,
then LENR cells may be "poisoning themselves" with Cu !!]
"In addition, a pure palladium catalyst would be
particularly unsuited for a nickel-hydrogen fuel cell
because, under standard conditions in such cells, it will
absorb up to 800 times its own volume of hydrogen. Further,
pure palladium has shown a tendency to release from the
support material during operation of test cells."
"In accordance with this invention, it has been found that
palladium alloyed with ruthenium is unexpectedly
substantially improved in tolerance to all of the
aforementioned phenomena. In addition, the
palladium/ruthenium electrodes provided in accordance with
this invention are superior in operating efficiency to
electrodes combining alloys of ruthenium with other noble
metals such as platinum."
Very interesting - I have spent days reviewing this FC
electrode literature - and it amazing to me that many CF
researchers are unaware of the depth of detail available in
this field ("active" hydrogen electrodes) due to fuel-cell
research. The problem is that much of it is unpublished
trade-secret, and that the cross-over was never seen as a
real possibility.
However, I think it goes without saying that an alloy which
is particularly good for a fuel cell would be a good
'candidate' for a MAHG or even LENR cathode (certainly it is
no guarantee) - if only because some of that efficiency in
the FC could possibly be related to non-chemical energy -
whether it be LENR, of more likely a ZPE bare-proton effect.
This could also be why one continues to hear anecdotal
stories of FCs that "appear" to operate at overunity for
considerable periods. And the "self-poisoning effect" is
definitely an item that needs further attention.
Jones
It would not surprise me that "Innovative Energy Solutions
Inc." which is little more than an idea which has been
incorporated, has now discovered the substantial IP
"problem" which they face, due to Kujas et al. and decided
to go "trade secret" from here on out.
