Fuel cells

The functioning of fuel cells is based on the fact that combustion reactions are of redox type — and hence can be used to generate electricity.

Fuel cells differ from ordinary galvanic cells in that the reactants are not placed within the cell: they are continuously supplied to the electrodes from a reservoir. In these cells one of the reactants is a fuel, such as hydrogen gas or methanol; the other reactant, such as oxyge …