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A sandwich structured membrane for direct methanol fuel cells operating with neat methanol

Author

Listed:
  • Wu, Q.X.
  • Zhao, T.S.
  • Chen, R.
  • An, L.

Abstract

Water starvation at the anode represents a challenging issue in the development of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) operating with neat methanol. To tackle the issue, a multi-layered membrane, consisting of an ultra-thin reaction layer sandwiched between two thin membranes, is proposed and developed. The reaction layer is composed of well-dispersed PtRu catalysts, SiO2 nanoparticles and Nafion ionomers. During the fuel cell operation, the methanol permeated from the anode catalyst layer and the oxygen permeated from the cathode catalyst layer meet and react in the reaction layer of the sandwich structured membrane to form water and CO2. The produced water is then maintained at a relatively high level by the hygroscopic SiO2 nanoparticles in the sandwich structured membrane. As a result, such a created water source at a high concentration level can supply the water required not only for the anode methanol oxidation reaction but also for membrane hydration. The performance characterization demonstrates that the DMFC with the sandwich structured membrane results in much higher performance than that with a single layer Nafion membrane does.

Suggested Citation

  • Wu, Q.X. & Zhao, T.S. & Chen, R. & An, L., 2013. "A sandwich structured membrane for direct methanol fuel cells operating with neat methanol," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 301-306.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:106:y:2013:i:c:p:301-306
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.01.016
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    Cited by:

    1. Wang, Zhigang & Zhang, Xuelin & Nie, Li & Zhang, Yufeng & Liu, Xiaowei, 2014. "Elimination of water flooding of cathode current collector of micro passive direct methanol fuel cell by superhydrophilic surface treatment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 107-112.
    2. Li Guan & Prabhuraj Balakrishnan & Huiyuan Liu & Weiqi Zhang & Yilin Deng & Huaneng Su & Lei Xing & Željko Penga & Qian Xu, 2022. "A Tortuosity Engineered Dual-Microporous Layer Electrode Including Graphene Aerogel Enabling Largely Improved Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Performance with High-Concentration Fuel," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-14, December.
    3. Yuan, Wei & Zhang, Zhaochun & Hu, Jinyi & Zhou, Bo & Tang, Yong, 2014. "Passive vapor-feed direct methanol fuel cell using sintered porous metals to realize high-concentration operation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 143-149.
    4. Dutta, Kingshuk & Das, Suparna & Kumar, Piyush & Kundu, Patit Paban, 2014. "Polymer electrolyte membrane with high selectivity ratio for direct methanol fuel cells: A preliminary study based on blends of partially sulfonated polymers polyaniline and PVdF-co-HFP," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 183-191.
    5. Das, Suparna & Kumar, Piyush & Dutta, Kingshuk & Kundu, Patit Paban, 2014. "Partial sulfonation of PVdF-co-HFP: A preliminary study and characterization for application in direct methanol fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 169-177.
    6. Liu, Guicheng & Li, Xinyang & Wang, Hui & Liu, Xiuying & Chen, Ming & Woo, Jae Young & Kim, Ji Young & Wang, Xindong & Lee, Joong Kee, 2017. "Design of 3-electrode system for in situ monitoring direct methanol fuel cells during long-time running test at high temperature," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 163-168.
    7. Yan, Xiaohui & Lin, Chen & Zheng, Zhifeng & Chen, Junren & Wei, Guanghua & Zhang, Junliang, 2020. "Effect of clamping pressure on liquid-cooled PEMFC stack performance considering inhomogeneous gas diffusion layer compression," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    8. Calabriso, Andrea & Borello, Domenico & Romano, Giovanni Paolo & Cedola, Luca & Del Zotto, Luca & Santori, Simone Giovanni, 2017. "Bubbly flow mapping in the anode channel of a direct methanol fuel cell via PIV investigation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P2), pages 1245-1255.
    9. Mehmood, Asad & Ha, Heung Yong, 2014. "Performance restoration of direct methanol fuel cells in long-term operation using a hydrogen evolution method," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 164-171.
    10. Wang, L.Q. & Bellini, M. & Filippi, J. & Folliero, M. & Lavacchi, A. & Innocenti, M. & Marchionni, A. & Miller, H.A. & Vizza, F., 2016. "Energy efficiency of platinum-free alkaline direct formate fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 479-487.
    11. Kumar, Piyush & Dutta, Kingshuk & Das, Suparna & Kundu, Patit Paban, 2014. "Membrane prepared by incorporation of crosslinked sulfonated polystyrene in the blend of PVdF-co-HFP/Nafion: A preliminary evaluation for application in DMFC," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 66-74.
    12. Mallick, Ranjan K. & Thombre, Shashikant B. & Shrivastava, Naveen K., 2016. "Vapor feed direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs): A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 51-74.
    13. Zainoodin, A.M. & Kamarudin, S.K. & Masdar, M.S. & Daud, W.R.W. & Mohamad, A.B. & Sahari, J., 2014. "Investigation of MEA degradation in a passive direct methanol fuel cell under different modes of operation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 364-372.
    14. Deng, Huichao & Zhang, Yufeng & Zheng, Xue & Li, Yang & Zhang, Xuelin & Liu, Xiaowei, 2015. "A CNT (carbon nanotube) paper as cathode gas diffusion electrode for water management of passive μ-DMFC (micro-direct methanol fuel cell) with highly concentrated methanol," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 236-241.
    15. Yan, X.H. & Zhao, T.S. & An, L. & Zhao, G. & Zeng, L., 2015. "A crack-free and super-hydrophobic cathode micro-porous layer for direct methanol fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 331-336.
    16. Ke, Yuzhi & Yuan, Wei & Zhou, Feikun & Guo, Wenwen & Li, Jinguang & Zhuang, Ziyi & Su, Xiaoqing & Lu, Biaowu & Zhao, Yonghao & Tang, Yong & Chen, Yu & Song, Jianli, 2021. "A critical review on surface-pattern engineering of nafion membrane for fuel cell applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    17. Shahgaldi, Samaneh & Alaefour, Ibrahim & Li, Xianguo, 2018. "Impact of manufacturing processes on proton exchange membrane fuel cell performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 1022-1032.
    18. Chen, Qing-Yun & Fu, Rong & Fang, Xiao-Wen & Cai, Wen-Fang & Wang, Yun-Hai & Cheng, Shao-An, 2015. "Cr-methanol fuel cell for efficient Cr(VI) removal and high power production," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 31-35.
    19. Pan, Zhefei & Bi, Yanding & An, Liang, 2020. "A cost-effective and chemically stable electrode binder for alkaline-acid direct ethylene glycol fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).

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