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To learn more about the Department of Chemical Engineering at The University of South Carolina, call or mail us at:

The University of South Carolina
Department of Chemical Engineering
2C02, Swearingen Engineering Center
301 South Main Street
Columbia, SC 29208

Ph 803.777.4181
Fax 803.777.8265

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USC campus
Columbia, SC

Tao Gu

Research Assistant Professor

Dr. Gu studies fuel cells with experimental methods. His current focus is to systematically screen possible impurities that may affect Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) system performance and develop a priority list sorted by chemical functionality. Dr. Gu designs and performs experiments to measure effects of dosage, concentration, and rate of contamination and determines the mechanism of transport and of PEMFC degradation. He also develops methods that allow prediction of effects of contaminants on cell life and performance.

Education

• Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC (2004).
  Dissertation: "Effect of Reformate Components and Stack Component Impurities on the Performance of PEMFCs" (Advisor: John W. Van Zee)
• M.S., Applied Chemistry, Shanghai Jiaotong University, China. (2000)
  Thesis: "Corrosion Behavior of the Corrosion Resistive Zinc-Iron Alloy" (Advisor: Y. C. Huang)
• B.S., Metallurgy, Central South University, China (1995)

Selected Publications

• Tao Gu, Y. C. Huang, "Corrosion Behavior of Zinc Iron Alloy in 3.5% NaCl Solution", Corrosion and Protection (Chinese), 21, 390 (2000).
  
• Tao Gu, W-k. Lee, J. W. Van Zee, and M. Murthy, "The Effect of Reformate Components on PEMFC Performance: Dilution and Reverse Water Gas Shift Reaction", Journal of Electrochemical Society, 151, A2100 (2004).
• Tao Gu, W-k. Lee, and J. W. Van Zee, "Quantifying the Reverse Water Gas Shift Reaction inside a PEM Fuel Cell", a special edition of the Journal of Applied Catalysis B, February 2004. Invited
• Tao Gu, W-k. Lee, and J. W. Van Zee, "Gas Crossover in a PEMFC", to be submitted to the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy.
• Tao Gu, W-k. Lee, and J. W. Van Zee, "The Effect of Impurities from Bipolar Plates on PEMFC Performance", to be submitted to Journal of Power Sources.