Enhanced performance of a silicon microfabricated direct methanol fuel cell with PtRu catalysts supported on few-walled carbon nanotubes

Maryam Borghei, Gianmario Scotti, Petri Kanninen, Timo Weckman, Ilya V. Anoshkin, Albert G. Nasibulin, Sami Franssila, Esko I. Kauppinen, Tanja Kallio and Virginia Ruiz

Energy, 2014, vol. 65, issue C, 612-620

Abstract: Si-MFCs (Silicon micro fuel cells) are promising power supplies for microelectronic applications, however their development is still at early stages compared to the conventional PEM-FCs (proton exchange membrane fuel cells). There are not many published reports on the durability of Si-MFCs and those available only projected the life-time of standard Vulcan based catalysts. However, the limited durability resulting from carbon corrosion is one of the crucial issues in fuel cells. In this study, Si-MFC with an integrated silicon nanograss diffusion layer is used for the direct methanol fuel cell investigations. The long-term (3-day) performance of PtRu catalysts supported on different carbon supports, namely Vulcan, GNFs (Graphitized carbon nanofibers) and FWCNTs (Few-walled carbon nanotubes), was studied. PtRu-FWCNTs and PtRu-GNFs exhibited respectively 471% (20.0 mW cm−2) and 274% (13.1 mW cm−2) power density enhancements compared to PtRu-Vulcan (3.5 mW cm−2). After 3-day durability measurements, power density stayed at 72%, 68% and 91% of the initial value, respectively for PtRu-FWCNTs, PtRu-GNFs and PtRu-Vulcan. To evaluate the influence of carbon supports as well as the distribution and the size of the nanoparticles on the overall performance of Si-MFCs, further characterizations with Raman, BET (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller), XRD (X-ray diffraction), SEM (Scanning electron microscopy) and TEM (Transmission Electron microscopy) were performed.

Keywords: Silicon micro fuel cell; Durability; Direct Methanol; PtRu-catalysts; Carbon nanotubes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:65:y:2014:i:c:p:612-620

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2013.11.067

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