Functional Materials for Sustainable Energy Applications

11

Developments in membranes, catalysts and membrane electrode assemblies for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs)

A. Manthiram, X. Zhao and W. Li,     University of Texas at Austin, USA

Abstract:

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are particularly attractive as portable power sources because they use liquid methanol fuel which is easily manageable and has a high energy storage density. However, DMFCs present certain major challenges: the sluggish methanol oxidation reaction at the anode and oxygen reduction reaction at the cathode and methanol crossover through the membrane from the anode to the cathode, all of which lead to dramatic performance losses. The commercialization of DMFC has been hindered by these factors, as well as the high costs ...