Performance of Direct Methanol Fuel Cells for Portable Power Applications

Performance of Direct Methanol Fuel Cells for Portable Power Applications... 

Rashidi R, Dincer I, Naterer GF, Berg P (2009) Performance evaluation of direct methanol fuel cells for portable applications. J Power Sources 187 509-516... 

Pasupathi et al. fabricated an acid-base polymer blend membrane based on sulfonated poly(etheretherketone) and poly(benzimidazole) for direct methanol fuel cells. A SPEEK/PBI membrane demonstrated a noticeable enhancement in the DMFC performance compared with Nafion 117. The maximum power densities (45 mW cm ) obtained with SPEEK/PBI membranes were twice that of Nafion 117 at 60 °C. This membrane maintained high power densities for more than 50 days of operation and therefore is seen as a potential candidate for portable DMFC applications [89]. 

The preparation complexity of perfluorosulfonated membrane and the high cost have restricted PEMFC from commercialization. Many researchers are dedicated to the development of nonflnorinated PEM. The American company Dais has developed styrene/ethylene-bntylene/styrene triblock polymer [51]. This membrane is especially snitable for small power PEMFC working at room temperature. The lifetime of the membrane is up to 4000 h. Baglio did some experiments to test the performance comparison of portable direct methanol fuel cell mini-stacks between a low-cost nonfluorinated polymer electrolyte and Nafion membrane. He found that at room temperature, a single-cell nonfluorinated membrane can achieve maximum power density of about 18 mW/cm. As a comparison, the value was 31 mW/cm for Nafion 117 membrane. Despite the lower performance, the nonfluorinated membrane showed good characteristics for application in portable DMFCs especially regarded to the perspectives of significant cost reduction [52]. 

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