The use of alcohol blends in direct alcohol fuel cells may be a more environmentally friendly and less toxic alternative to the use of methanol alone in direct methanol fuel cells. This paper assesses the behaviour of a direct methanol fuel cell fed with aqueous methanol, aqueous ethanol and aqueous methanol/ethanol blends in a long term experimental study followed by modelling of polarization ...

This paper reports on microscale silicon-based direct formic acid fuel cells (Si-DFAFCs) in which the fuel and the oxidant are supplied to the electrodes in a passive manner. Passive delivery of fuel and oxidant eliminates the need for ancillary components and associated parasitic losses. In this Si-DFAFC, an aqueous solution of formic acid is in direct contact with a Pdor Pt-based anode and a ...

Improving cell performance and durability through both new materials and membrane electrode processing optimization is needed for the commercialization of alkaline membrane fuel cell (AMFC) technologies. In this work, we adopted an in-situ cross-linking strategy of an anion-conducting block copolymer to prepare durable ionomers for use in alkaline membrane fuel cells (AMFCs). Our goal was to us...

Hybrid polymer electrolyte fuel cells combine a proton exchange membrane PEM and anion exchange membrane AEM and exhibit unique advantages. The electrochemical performance and current limitations of a hybrid cell with an alkaline electrode fabricated on a Nafion membrane was characterized at 70°C as a function of relative humidity. To separate the individual characteristics of the AEM anode and...

Despite over a century of study and decades of intensive research, few fuel cell products have appeared on the market. The major inhibitor to mass commercialisation is cost. H2/air alkaline fuel cells (AFCs) containing KOH(aq) electrolyte promise the lowest cost devices, with the ability to use non-Pt catalysts. The fundamental problem with AFCs is that the KOH(aq) electrolyte reacts with CO2 (...

The ability to accurately measure separate in situ anode and cathode overpotentials and impedance responses is still a source of debate when investigating fuel cells of planar configuration containing < 100 μm thickness solid electrolytes and when using the common three electrode arrangement. The results obtained in this study indicate that the overpotentials and impedances of the anode and cat...