The electrochemical kinetics study of methanol at electrocatalyst Pt-Ru/C and the methanol diffusion in the modified proton exchange membranes

1. Abstract Pt-Ru/C catalyst has been applied extensively in direct methanol fuel cells for methanol electrochemical oxidation. In this study, a model for electrochemical kinetics of methanol has been developed for electrocatalyst Pt-Ru/C. The single cell performance of DMFC and AC impedance analysis were measured. The methanol crossover problem still remains a challenge for the applications of DMFC. The mechanism of methanol crossover and the effect of methanol concentration on the methanol crossover in the modified proton exchange membranes would also be investigated. With the aim of improving the membrane properties for DMFC applications, the modifications and treatments for Nafion-based membranes have been proposed and investigated. By treating membranes with the sol-gel method, the methanol permeability of the modified membrane could be reduced to one half of that in the Nafion membrane.