Effect of anode flow field design on the performance of liquid feed direct methanol fuel cells

Yang, Haipeng; Zhao, Tianshou

doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2004.11.060

Cited by 164 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…An open ratio of 48.9 % for channels on the flow field was adopted. This open ratio of close to 50 % can lead to the best cell performance both at moderate and high flow rates of the methanol solution, as has been proved by Yang et al [20]. Figure 1a shows the new pattern of the flow field, which includes hydrophilic microchannel for liquid transportation, superhydrophobic microchannels for gas exhaust, and ribs for separating the two kinds of channels.…”

Section: Flow Field Design and Fabricationmentioning

confidence: 78%

Novel Flow Field with Superhydrophobic Gas Channels Prepared by One-step Solvent-induced Crystallization for Micro Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

Liang

Liu

et al. 2015

Nano-Micro Lett.

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The CO 2 -induced capillary blocking in anode flow field is one of the key adverse factors to reduce the performance of a micro-direct methanol fuel cell (lDMFC). In order to solve this problem, new polycarbonate (PC) flow field plates with nested arrangement of hydrophilic fuel channels and superhydrophobic gas channels were designed, fabricated, and tested in this work. The gas channels were treated with solvent-induced crystallization using acetone solution. The superhydrophobicity with 160°water contact angle and 2°tilting angle was obtained on the PC substrates. A dummy cell using hydrogen peroxide decomposition reaction and a test loop were separately set up to evaluate the flow fields' performance. It was found that a 37 % pressure drop decrease can be obtained in the new serpentine flow field compared with that of the conventional one. The benefit of the new flow field to remove gas bubbles was also confirmed by an in situ visualization study on the dummy cell. Results show that the auxiliary superhydrophobic gas channels can speed up the discharge of the gas bubbles from the flow field, which will in turn improve the lDMFC performance.

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Section: Flow Field Design and Fabricationmentioning

confidence: 78%

Novel Flow Field with Superhydrophobic Gas Channels Prepared by One-step Solvent-induced Crystallization for Micro Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

Liang

Liu

et al. 2015

Nano-Micro Lett.

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“…[1] Important factors for DMFCs are the distribution of reactants to the CL and the removal of reaction products from the system. First, the reactants are delivered into the system through a flow-channel, which can have various geometries: serpentine and parallel channels are most common ( Figure 3) [2]. The shape of the channel crosssection is generally rectangular.…”

Section: Dmfc Componentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silicon nanograss as micro fuel cell gas diffusion layer

et al. 2010

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Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) produce electrical energy directly from chemical energy. They are a promising candidate for power sources of portable devices due to the high energy density of methanol and the quick recharging procedure by fuel insertion. However, the problem areas of the DMFC are the slow electro-oxidation of methanol and the permeated methanol reacting at the cathode. New catalysts are constantly searched but they are often tested only for catalytic activity and the DMFC testing is omitted even though the catalyst layer (CL) structure has a large impact on the performance. Miniaturization of the system is also necessary for portable applications. Silicon etching can be used to fabricate small structures for fuel cells replacing or enhancing the functions of laboratory-scale components.In the first part of this thesis, new catalysts for the DMFC are studied with the emphasis on the CL structure. Different carbon supports for the anode were studied: standard carbon black and alternative few-walled carbon nanotubes (FWCNT) and graphitized carbon nanofiber (GNF). The alternative supports showed better DMFC performance but their stability was lower than with carbon black. However, the CL formed with GNF showed a very porous structure enhancing the mass transfer, so that higher binder content could be used improving the stability to the level of carbon black and the performance by 30%. The FWCNTs were also investigated as a platform for enzymatic methanol oxidation by studying the electrochemical properties of an immobilized cofactor pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ). A large amount of PQQ was adsorbed having a strong redox response and good stability in a wide pH window. For the cathode, a methanol-tolerant, Pt-free nitrogen-doped FWCNTs were tested in an alkaline DMFC as such testing is not often made. Its performance was remarkably 4 times better than with Pt when synthetic air was used as the oxidant.In the second part of thesis, an integrated gas diffusion layer (GDL) consisting of Si nanoneedles (nanograss) was tested in a micro fuel cell (MFC). The layer functioned properly at low current densities. For high power applications, a standard carbon cloth GDL was tested with the nanograss as a contact surface reducing the resistance between the GDL and the flow field. The use of the nanograss improved the MFC performance and stability. Finally, the MFCs were used as a catalyst testing platform and the results were compared with a similar test in a laboratory-scale DMFC. The results varied showing that the DMFC components also have a large impact on catalyst testing.Keywords direct methanol fuel cell, carbon nanomaterials, micro fuel cells, catalyst layer Tiivistelmä Suorametanolipolttokennot (SMPK) tuottavat sähköenergiaa suoraan kemiallisesta energiasta. Ne ovat lupaava vaihtoehto kannettavien laitteiden voimanlähteeksi, koska metanolilla on korkea energiatiheys ja lataaminen tapahtuu nopeasti polttoainelisäyksellä. SMPK:lla on kuitenkin rajoitteina metanolin hidas hapetusreaktio ja katodi...

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“…The design of the anode flow field is critical to achieving optimized performance in the μDMFC. And many flow field structures have been reported [13][14][15], such as parallel channel, serpentine channel, and spiral channel. The parallel flow field structure, which has an easy to fabricate simple structure and small channel drag, can generally be used as the anode current collector of a μDMFC, especially applied as the stack architecture.…”

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confidence: 99%

Silicon-based micro direct methanol fuel cell with an N-inputs-N-outputs anode flow pattern

et al. 2011

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A micro direct methanol fuel cell (μDMFC) is suitable for use in notebook computers, mobile phones, and other digital products. To resolve the poor mass-transport efficiency problem in the anode flow channel, this paper presents an N-inputs-N-outputs parallel flow pattern with rectangular convexes to reinforce methanol mass transport and reduce concentration polarization. The simulation results show that the N-inputs-N-outputs parallel flow channels with the rectangle convexes improve the performance. μDMFCs, which have four anode flow patterns, are fabricated using MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) technology. The experimental results show that the μDMFC with the rectangle convexes has a performance better than previously reported systems, and has a peak power density of 19.96 mW/cm 2 . The simulation and experimental results are in good agreement.

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Effect of anode flow field design on the performance of liquid feed direct methanol fuel cells

Cited by 164 publications

References 33 publications

Novel Flow Field with Superhydrophobic Gas Channels Prepared by One-step Solvent-induced Crystallization for Micro Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

Novel Flow Field with Superhydrophobic Gas Channels Prepared by One-step Solvent-induced Crystallization for Micro Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

Silicon nanograss as micro fuel cell gas diffusion layer

Silicon-based micro direct methanol fuel cell with an N-inputs-N-outputs anode flow pattern

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