1 NSF CEAS REU PROJECT 1: Portable Device for Formaldehyde Detection and Removal in Direct Alcohol Fuel Cell Effluent Faculty Mentor: Anastasios P. Angelopoulos Graduate Assistant: Adam D. Worrall Introduction: Recent developments in highly active and durable catalysts for room-temperature alcohol electro-oxidation have made these fuels attractive replacements for hydrogen in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells. Problems: 1) Incomplete oxidation of these materials can increase levels of toxic gases such as formaldehyde in the humidified effluent. In 2011, formaldehyde was recognized by the US National Toxicology Program as a human carcinogen. Human toxicity is presently believed to occur at formaldehyde exposures even as low as 2 ppm. 2) Existing methods for formaldehyde analysis involve the use of gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) instrumentation that is not sufficiently portable or cost-effective for integration into fuel cell stacks intended for automotive application. Objective: Develop portable, cost-effective method of formaldehyde emissions measurement in real time. Feng, L.; Musto, C.J.; Suslick, K. S. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2010, 132, 4046-4047 3) Recent developments on the use of optical sensing arrays are too cumbersome for incorporation into fuel cell stacks.