The purpose of this work is to develop a one-dimensional mathematical model for predicting the cell performance of a direct formic acid fuel cell and compare this with experimental results. The predicted model can be applied to direct formic acid fuel cells operated with different formic acid concentrations, temperatures, and with various electrolytes. Tafel kinetics at the electrodes, thermody...

Regenerative Fuel Cell (RFC) systems are used for the enhancement of sustainable energy aspect in conventional fuel cells. In this study, a photovoltaic-electrolyzer-fuel cell integrated cycle has been presented. The proposed system has been designed as a novel approach for alleviating the restrictions  on energy streams in the RFC systems. Modeling of the system has been performed from the mas...

Crosslinked anion exchange membranes (AEMs) made from poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as a backbone polymer and different approaches to functional group introduction were prepared by means of solution casting with thermal chemical crosslinking. Membrane characterization was performed SEM, FTIR, thermogravimetric analyses. The performance AEMs evaluated water uptake, swelling degree, ion capacity, OH-...

This paper reports on a single alkaline exchange membrane direct formate fuel cell (AEM DFFC) consisting of a carbon-supported palladium catalyst at the anode, a quaternized polysulfone membrane, and a non-precious Fe–Co catalyst at the cathode. It is demonstrated that the AEM DFFC yields a peak power density of 130 mW cm 2 with 5 M potassium formate (HCOOK) at 80 C. It is further shown that wi...

Passive direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is considered as an attractive power source for portable devices. In this study, a transient multiphase model for passive alkaline anion exchange membrane DMFC (AAEMDMFC) is developed. The results show that the power density decreases during the operation and is more difficult to maintain stable with higher current density or lower voltage. The fuel effi...

Two-phase phenomena, i.e. bubble flow in the anode and water flooding in the cathode, are critical to design of high-performance direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC). A 5 cm2 transparent DMFC has been developed to visualize these phenomena in situ. Two types of membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) based on Nafion® 112 were used to investigate effects of backing pore structure and wettability on cell ...

An aqueous methanol sensor for use in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) applications is demonstrated; the methanol sensor is built using dispersed single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with Nafion117 solution to detect the methanol concentration in water. The study is aimed at the potential use of the carbon nanotubes array as a methanol sensor for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). The con...

The proton exchange membrane (PEMFC) fuel cell represents the energy of the future, in parallel with hydrogen. However, this technology must meet many technical challenges related to performance and durability before being sold on a large scale. It is well known that these challenges are closely linked to water management. This paper develops and implements a model of PEM fuel for simulation to...