A Tortuosity Engineered Dual-Microporous Layer Electrode Including Graphene Aerogel Enabling Largely Improved Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Performance with High-Concentration Fuel

Li Guan, Prabhuraj Balakrishnan, Huiyuan Liu, Weiqi Zhang, Yilin Deng, Huaneng Su, Lei Xing, Željko Penga and Qian Xu ()
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Li Guan: Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Prabhuraj Balakrishnan: Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Huiyuan Liu: Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Weiqi Zhang: Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Yilin Deng: Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Huaneng Su: Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Lei Xing: Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
Željko Penga: Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Split, 21000 Split, Croatia
Qian Xu: Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 24, 1-14

Abstract: Methanol crossover is an important factor affecting the performance of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). In this work, a novel membrane electrode assembly (MEA) is designed and prepared by adding a layer of graphene aerogel (GA) between the carbon powder microporous layer and the catalytic layer, which optimizes the methanol transport and improves the output performance of DMFC at high methanol concentrations. Compared to conventional carbon powder, the addition of GA increases the tortuosity of the anode in the through-plane direction; hence, methanol is diluted to a suitable concentration when it reaches the catalyst. The maximum power density of the novel MEA can reach 27.4 mW·cm −2 at a condition of 8 M methanol, which is 234% higher than that of the conventional electrode. The test results of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) indicate that the addition of GA does not increase the internal resistance of the novel MEA and that the mass transfer resistance at high concentrations is significantly lower. The experimental results indicate that the output performance at high concentration can be significantly improved by adding a GA layer, and its practicability in portable devices can be improved. It also improves the stability of DMFC under long-term testing.

Keywords: graphene aerogel; high methanol condition; methanol crossover; direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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