A proton exchange membrane has been developed for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). The nanofiber network composite membranes were prepared by interconnected network of Nafion (perfuorosulfonic acid) nanofibers that have been embedded in an uncharged and inert polymer matrix, by electro-spinning. The spinning solution of Nafion with a low concentration (1 wt% compared to Nafion) of high molecul...

A commercial PtRu/C catalyst postdoped with nitrogen demonstrates a significantly higher performance (~10-20% improvement) in the anode of an alkaline direct methanol fuel cell than an unmodified commercial PtRu/C catalyst control. The enhanced performance shown herein is attributed at least partially to the increased electrochemical surface area of the PtRu/C after postdoping with nitrogen.

This paper describes and demonstrates a new method for determination of current density distribution in an operating polymer electrolyte membrane ~PEM! fuel cell. The technique is a modification of the current mapping technique that relies on an array of shunt resistors embedded within a current collecting plate. Standard, nonaltered membrane electrode assemblies are utilized with gas diffusion...

This paper addresses the impacts of environmental legislation and vehicle emissions on the future of alternative fuels sucl~ as methanol, compressed natural gas, propane, electricity, hydrogen, and reformulated gasoline in the transportation industry, and it discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each type of fuel in terms of fuel efficiency, fuel cost, environmental impacts, and vehicle...

A polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell with amorphous hydrated ruthenium dioxide (RuO2 " xH2O) supercapacitative sublayers inserted between the electrocatalyst layers and the Nafion membrane was fabricated to enhance the cell’s pulse power output. RuO2 " xH2O material showed a high capacitance ~ca. 230 F/g! and allowed a much higher pulse power output, which was demonstrated by cyclic voltamm...

This paper presents our recent effort on application of nanoimprint technology into passive MEMS-based direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) for chip-scale power-embedded system. We fabricated and characterized five kinds of micro DMFC with different nanoimprint pattern and catalyst layers. It was found that the measured fuel cell performance varied with the nanoimprinted patterns because they affec...

We report the photoelectrochemical (PEC) oxidation of methanol on a rationally designed graphene-TiO2 nanorod array (G-TNR) photoanode. A PEC methanol fuel cell was constructed by coupling the G-TNR photoanode with a cathode. This study raises a conceptual fuel cell that realizes the synergistic energy conversion of chemical energy and solar energy.

For the last decade, dimethyl ether (DME) has been considered a promising alternative fuel for direct fuel cells because of several advantages over methanol. In this work, PtRu catalysts with a wide range of Pt-to-Ru ratios were screened for the direct DME fuel cell (DDMEFC) performance for the first time. Overall, Pt50Ru50 performs best in the high and middle voltage ranges, whereas Pt80Ru20 p...