Abstract:
New original heterostructures that incorporate graphite and iron titanium (TiFe) intermetallide as materials of two electrodes and KOH$\cdot$ 2H$_2$O as a solid electrolyte ($T_{melt}$ = 315 K) are described. For room-temperature activated cells, the emf amounts to $\sim$1.4–1.1 V at 263–310 K, where the contribution of the TiFeH$_x$|KOH $\cdot$ 2H$_2$O heteroboundary accounts for 0.9–0.7 V. The replacement of protium by deuterium leads to a $\sim$100 mV change in the potential of this heteroboundary, which is evidence for a potential-determining role of protons. The isotope exchange confirms the kinetic reversibility of the proton transition via the TiFeH$_x$|KOH $\cdot$ 2H$_2$O heteroboundary, which is also indicative of the formation of a protonic heterojunction.
Fulltext:
PDF file (141 kB)
