In this work, we prepared the nafion/montmorillonite/heteropolyacid nanocomposite membranes for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). The analyses such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were conducted to characterize the filler dispersion and membrane structure in prepared nanocomposite membranes. XRD patterns of nafion-CsPW-MMT ...

The development of direct methanol fuel cells required the attention to the electrolyte. A good electrolyte should not only be ionic conductive but also be crossover resistant. Ionic liquids could be a promising electrolyte for fuel cells. Monitoring methanol was critical in several locations in a direct methanol fuel cell. Conductivity could be used to monitor the methanol content in ionic liq...

Sulfonic acid-functionalized polymer electrolyte membranes alternative to Nafion(®) were developed. These were hydrocarbon systems, such as blend sulfonated polyetheretherketone (s-PEEK), new generation perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) systems, and composite zirconium phosphate-PFSA polymers. The membranes varied in terms of composition, equivalent weight, thickness, and filler and were investigat...

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are electrochemical devices that efficiently produce electricity and are characterized by a large flexibility for portable applications and high energy density. Methanol crossover is one of the main obstacles for DMFC commercialization, forcing the search for highly electro-active and methanol tolerant cathodes. In the present work, carbon-supported Pd and PdF...

The high methanol crossover and high cost of Nafion® membrane are the major challenges for direct methanol fuel cell application. With the aim of solving these problems, a non-Nafion polymer electrolyte membrane with low methanol permeability and high proton conductivity based on the sodium alginate (SA) polymer as the matrix and sulfonated graphene oxide (SGO) as an inorganic filler (0.02-0.2 ...

3.8.2. Temperature Distribution Measurements 4749 3.8.3. Two-Phase Visualization 4750 3.8.4. Experimental Validation 4751 3.9. Modeling the Catalyst Layer at Pore Level 4751 3.10. Summary and Outlook 4752 4. Direct Methanol Fuel Cells 4753 4.1. Technical Challenges 4754 4.1.1. Methanol Oxidation Kinetics 4754 4.1.2. Methanol Crossover 4755 4.1.3. Water Management 4755 4.1.4. Heat Management 475...

Using NPT and NVT molecular dynamics simulation techniques, we have simulated an atomistic model of solvated Nafion in the lithium salt form, with the following three main objectives: (i) to obtain details on the local environment of the lithium cations and to assess the solvent effect on their binding, (ii) to investigate the translational and rotational motion of solvent molecules (water and ...