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How do fuel cells work?
Home » Automobiles » Fuel Cells » How do fuel cells work?There are different kinds of fuel cells, but the most common and basic fuel cell contains a negatively charged portion (called the anode), a positively charged portion (called the cathode), a proton exchange membrane and a catalyst, something that makes the reaction occur to produce the energy. The chemical reaction that takes place is something not too unlike the kinds of things you learned about in high school chemistry: hydrogen gas enters the fuel cell on the negative side. Oxygen enters the fuel cell on the positive side. The catalyst splits electrons from the hydrogen. The electrons are conducted along a circuit, which, in effect captures their energy and uses it to power whatever type of motor or device the fuel cell is attached to. In the meantime, the oxygen molecules are split, but not for long. Because they are negatively charged at this point, they are quickly joined to the two positively charged hydrogen ions (remember that the hydrogen just "lost" its negative electrons). The result of this complicated sounding reaction is one the most basic substance on earth: water.
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