直接甲醇燃料电池催化活性层的优化

本文考察了直接甲醇燃料电池 (DMFC)不同催化剂载量的膜电极性能 .对催化剂层中Nafion含量进行优化 ,研究了Nafion含量对电池的阻抗的影响 .实验发现 :DMFC适宜的阳极Pt_Ru/C载量为Pt 4mg/cm2 、Nafion质量百分含量为 2 1.4 % ;高电流密度下 ,阴极Pt/C载量为Pt4mg/cm2 、Nafion质量百分含量为 2 1.4 %时 ,有较好的放电性能 ,继续增加Nafion含量 ,阴极的欧姆极化和浓差极化增大 ,电池性能下降     

操作条件对DMFC阴极电化学阻抗谱参数的影响

通过降低阴极催化剂载量强化了阴极氧还原反应的电化学极化, 测量了不同操作条件下直接甲醇燃料电池(DMFC)的极化曲线和交流阻抗谱,并提出了改进的等效电路模型LR(CR)(QR(LR))用以分析温度、空气流量和甲醇流量对DMFC阴极电化学反应和传质极化过程的影响. 研究结果表明, 提高工作温度会导致更多的甲醇渗透到阴极, 加大阴极氧气还原反应的电荷转移电阻; 只有采用大的空气流量,才会有效地防止水淹, 加大氧气向催化剂层的传质, 促进阴极反应的进行; 适当提高甲醇的流量可以促进阳极和阴极电化学反应的进行, 但是过高的甲醇流速可能会降低电极表面的温度, 加剧甲醇的渗透.     

自呼吸直接甲醇燃料电池膜电极的优化(英文)

针对空气自呼吸式直接甲醇燃料电池甲醇易渗透和阴极易水淹的特点,通过对催化层催化剂载量、阴极微孔层、阳极微孔层和膜等因素进行调控,对膜电极结构和性能的进行了优化.结果表明,使用高载量催化剂能有效降低甲醇渗透,但载量过高会引起传质阻力.当阳极微孔层PTFE含量为30%(bymass)时,可以有效促进CO2的均一析出,从而降低甲醇浓度梯度,减小甲醇透过.综合考虑甲醇渗透和阴极自返水,经优化后所得MEA在室温时自呼吸工作条件下,比功率密度达到33mW·cm-2,最优甲醇工作浓度为4mol·L-1.     

空气自呼吸式直接甲醇燃料电池的环境适应性研究

针对空气自呼吸式(Air breathing)直接甲醇燃料电池(Direct methanol fuel cell,DMFC)阴极直接暴露在空气中的特性,重点研究了不同空气环境条件下例如湿度、温度等因素对电池性能的影响.结果表明,DMFC对环境湿度的变化并不敏感,这是由于阳极侧甲醇溶液中水的渗透使得质子交换膜和阴极一直保持相对稳定的水含量.又从可视化方法发现,反应生成的水在阴极大部分以液态形式存在,靠重力的因素排出电池,这对阴极集流板的结构设计具有重要的指导作用.此外,环境温度对电池性能具有明显的作用.环境温度为40℃时,单电池的最大功率密度接近30 mW.cm-2,是10℃时电池功率密度的3倍.     

铂纳米棒有序阵列催化电极在被动式直接甲醇燃料电池中的应用

直接甲醇燃料电池(DMFC)具有能量密度高、无需充电、液体燃料添加便捷及环境友好等优点,是新一代便携式移动电源研究热点. DMFC规模应用的主要技术挑战是如何进一步提高电池性能、显著降低成本和可靠延长寿命.催化电极作为 DMFC发电核心和成本的集中体现,其电催化活性和贵金属用量直接影响 DMFC的性能和成本,开发高性能、低成本的催化电极对推进 DMFC实用化进程具有重要意义.特别是在被动式 DMFC中,阴极催化电极不仅需要提高电催化活性和大幅降低贵金属用量,而且还面临内部严重的“水淹”和氧传质受限等问题.近年来,随着纳米技术发展,有序纳米结构已逐渐应用于 DMFC催化电极的构筑中,电池性能得到显著提高.然而,目前的研究主要集中在膜电极纳米有序微孔层、纳米有序改性膜和纳米有序阳极催化电极及其阳极贵金属载量降低等方面,关于阴极催化电极在有序纳米结构以及载量降低等方面的研究相对较少.
　　本文采用模板法直接在微孔层上电沉积定向生长排列有序、直径可控的铂纳米棒阵列,并作为阴极催化电极应用于被动式 DMFC. X射线衍射和透射电镜结果表明,该铂纳米棒结构稳定,表面含有丰富的纳米晶须结构,有利于催化电极比表面积增加和电催化活性提高.不同催化电极上氧还原的极化曲线表明电极性能依下列次序变化：直径为200 nm铂纳米棒阵列电极>100 nm铂纳米棒阵列电极>商业化铂黑催化电极.电池性能表征表明,长度为1–3μm、直径分别为200和100 nm、载量为1.0 mg/cm2的铂纳米棒阵列作为阴极催化电极的 DMFC最大功率密度分别为17.3和12.0 mW/cm2.通过催化电极电化学活性面积和阻抗测试,分析其性能提高的原因可归结于有序排列的铂纳米棒阵列结构提高了电化学活性面积、增强了氧还原电催化活性并促进了阴极氧的传质.     

甲醇浓度对被动式自呼吸直接甲醇燃料电池性能的影响

依据单电池测试结果和甲醇传质理论考察了甲醇溶液的浓度对被动式自呼吸直接甲醇燃料电池（DMFC）性能的影响.研究结果表明,电池的法拉第效率和能量转化效率会随着浓度的增大而降低,采用4mol/L的甲醇溶液实现了最大的放电功率13.9mW/cm^2,并能在60mA下稳定放电长达20h.这取决于电池运行过程中电极内部的甲醇传质和甲醇透过的共同作用.     

直接甲醇燃料电池膜电极的研究与进展

膜电极(MEA)是直接甲醇燃料电池(DMFC)的核心部件。文中对MEA的研究现状从4个方面进行了详细评述。首先,对组成MEA的关键材料,如电催化剂、质子交换膜、扩散层的研究进展进行了介绍,认为开发低温高效、贵金属载量低的电催化剂以及研制低成本、低甲醇渗透的非氟质子交换膜是MEA关键材料的研究方向。第二,对于MEA的制备方法,文中对以GDL为支撑体的GDE法和以PEM为支撑体的CCM法进行了详细的评述,认为CCM法是今后MEA制备工艺的重要发展方向。第三,关于MEA的表征技术,认为采用电化学方法结合现代谱学技术仍是未来一段时间对MEA表征的主要手段。第四,介绍了MEA数学模型的研究现状,DMFC数学模型的研究是以PEMFC的模型为基础建立起来的,但是建立DMFC的数学模型更为复杂,认为今后对DMFC膜电极模型的研究要充分考虑阳极二氧化碳与甲醇水溶液的两相流问题以及阴极甲醇渗透对电池性能影响的问题。最后,对直接甲醇燃料电池膜电极未来的发展进行了展望。     

直接甲醇燃料电池纳米结构电催化材料及多孔电极研究

直接甲醇燃料电池(DMFC)因其燃料能量密度高,工作温度低,低污染排放等优点被认为是用作移动设备电源的最佳选择之一,至今已有美国的Oorja Protonics公司和丹麦的IRD公司等新能源相关企业相继发布了多款用于手机、电脑、通信基站、叉式装卸机或房车的商业产品.然而, DMFC内部的复杂情况造成的多种不同的电压损失仍旧使得其实际电压效率远低于理论值.其中从阳极渗透到阴极的甲醇造成的混合电位导致的电压损失尤为明显.目前,众多研究人员都致力于开发高稳定性、高耐久性、高性能且低成本的催化材料体系,以克服传统Pt催化剂存在的各种问题.除了催化剂本身之外, DMFC的问题还与其中膜电极的微结构和电化学特性息息相关.膜电极是化学能通过电催化氧化还原反应转化为电能的反应场所,通常由阳极扩散层、阳极催化层、质子交换膜、阴极催化层和阴极扩散层依序组合而成.通过对MEA中的各层进行优化,如传质管理和甲醇渗透等问题都能得到有效解决.
　　近年来,纳米技术常被用于改进DMFC性能的研究.具备纳米结构的金属-碳/金属氧化物载体类催化材料得到了广泛研究.这些电催化材料在制备方法、结构和组分上都有较大区别.结构方面,许多研究都证明制备纳米级多孔网络结构或者有序阵列结构的催化层有助于提高催化性能和Pt的利用率.组分方面,许多研究人员都开展了引入Pt以外金属成分或金属氧化物来改变Pt催化剂的表面电子状态的研究.引入这些组分导致的配位体效应可以通过弱化Pt与H+, OH-或COads等的相互作用来起到抗催化毒化和提高催化效率的作用.尽管对于DMFC领域的认知逐渐完善,但是仍有许多问题有待解决.因此,本文介绍了目前用于DMFC的纳米结构电催化材料和多孔电极的研究进展.重点介绍了纳米结构催化剂和载体材料的合成及表征.
　　通过对比不同催化材料的特性可以发现,在本文涉及到的催化材料中, In0.1SnO2-Pt和(MoO3)0.2SnO2-Pt/C表现出了最高的催化活性,但是它们高效催化甲醇电氧化所需的碱性环境与现在占绝对主流地位的Nafion质子交换膜所必须的酸性环境相冲突,所以其实际应用价值在碱性阴离子交换膜研究取得突破前都难以有效发挥.而另一类表现较好的采用溶致液晶模板法合成的纳米树枝状和纳米星形Pt催化剂则存在制备工艺难以商业规模化的问题.总的来说,采用溶剂热合成法制备的Pt-NRCeO2/GNs和Pt/Ti0.9Sn0.1O2-C等纳米结构金属氧化物、碳材料复合载体和Pt基贵金属催化剂组成的催化材料体系不仅催化性能相对于商业化Pt纳米颗粒有很大提高,而且制备方法易于商业规模化,值得进一步关注.此外,本文还介绍了如内部传质过程的理论建模计算和膜电极中功能结构的制备等优化DMFC中多孔电极内传质过程的方法.通过计算机模拟得到优化DMFC内部传质过程所需的扩散层、催化层的传质特性相关参数,再通过改进MEA制备工艺,有效控制各层的结构参数向模拟的优化值靠拢,能够实现DMFC性能的有效提升.综合模拟、实验研究及工艺研究结果,根据实际需要,设计和制备包含新功能层的MEA的相关研究也更进一步提高了DMFC的性能和实用性.就目前的研究情况而言,如果在性能提升的基础上,使用寿命再取得突破, DMFC一定会有很好的商业应用前景.     

溶胶-凝胶流动相异型直接甲醇燃料电池性能研究

以掺杂石墨粉的中间相碳微球(MCMB/G)烧结管为阴极支撑体,采用浸涂工艺分别制备了扩散层和催化层并在其外表面包裹Nafion膜,制得管状异型阴极并组装成异型直接甲醇燃料电池;采用溶胶-凝胶法制备了适用于直接甲醇燃料电池的溶胶-凝胶流动相。研究了溶胶-凝胶流动相异型直接甲醇燃料电池的阻抗,考察了阴极支撑体壁厚、阴极扩散层载量、实验温度和溶胶黏度等对电池极化性能的影响。结果表明,异型电池阻抗比传统平板电池大,但活化后电池阻抗明显下降;较低的溶胶黏度和较高的工作温度有利于提高电池性能;支撑体壁厚为1.3 mm、扩散层载量为3.5 mg/cm2时的电极性能最优。     

铂纳米棒有序阵列催化电极在被动式直接甲醇燃料电池中的应用（英文）

直接甲醇燃料电池(DMFC)具有能量密度高、无需充电、液体燃料添加便捷及环境友好等优点,是新一代便携式移动电源研究热点.DMFC规模应用的主要技术挑战是如何进一步提高电池性能、显著降低成本和可靠延长寿命.催化电极作为DMFC发电核心和成本的集中体现,其电催化活性和贵金属用量直接影响DMFC的性能和成本,开发高性能、低成本的催化电极对推进DMFC实用化进程具有重要意义.特别是在被动式DMFC中,阴极催化电极不仅需要提高电催化活性和大幅降低贵金属用量,而且还面临内部严重的"水淹"和氧传质受限等问题.近年来,随着纳米技术发展,有序纳米结构已逐渐应用于DMFC催化电极的构筑中,电池性能得到显著提高.然而,目前的研究主要集中在膜电极纳米有序微孔层、纳米有序改性膜和纳米有序阳极催化电极及其阳极贵金属载量降低等方面,关于阴极催化电极在有序纳米结构以及载量降低等方面的研究相对较少.本文采用模板法直接在微孔层上电沉积定向生长排列有序、直径可控的铂纳米棒阵列,并作为阴极催化电极应用于被动式DMFC.X射线衍射和透射电镜结果表明,该铂纳米棒结构稳定,表面含有丰富的纳米晶须结构,有利于催化电极比表面积增加和电催化活性提高.不同催化电极上氧还原的极化曲线表明电极性能依下列次序变化:直径为200 nm铂纳米棒阵列电极100 nm铂纳米棒阵列电极商业化铂黑催化电极.电池性能表征表明,长度为1–3μm、直径分别为200和100nm、载量为1.0 mg/cm2的铂纳米棒阵列作为阴极催化电极的DMFC最大功率密度分别为17.3和12.0 m W/cm~2.通过催化电极电化学活性面积和阻抗测试,分析其性能提高的原因可归结于有序排列的铂纳米棒阵列结构提高了电化学活性面积、增强了氧还原电催化活性并促进了阴极氧的传质.     

A novel MEA architecture for improving the performance of a DMFC

Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) consisting of a double-catalytic layered membrane electrode assembly (MEA) provide higher performance than that with the traditional MEA. This novel structured MEA includes a hydrophilic inner catalyst layer and a traditional electrode with an outer catalyst layer, which was made using both catalyst coated membrane (CCM) and gas diffusion electrode (GDE) methods. The inner catalyst was PtRu black on anode and Pt black on cathode. The outer catalyst was carbon supported Pt–Ru/Pt on anode and cathode, respectively. Thus in the double-catalytic layered electrodes three gradients were formed: catalyst concentration gradient, hydrophilicity gradient and porosity gradient, resulting in good mass transfer, proton and electron conducting and low methanol crossover. The peak density of DMFC with such MEA was 19 mW cm⁻², operated at 2 M CH₃OH, 2 atm oxygen at room temperature, which was much higher than DMFC with traditional MEA.     

A novel single electrode supported direct methanol fuel cell

In this paper a single electrode supported direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is fabricated and tested. The novel architecture combines the elimination of the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) and the integration of the anode and cathode into one component. The thin film fabrication involves a sequential deposition of an anode catalyst layer, a cellulose acetate electronic insulating layer and a cathode catalyst layer onto a single carbon fibre paper substrate. The single electrode supported DMFC has a total thickness of 3.88 × 10^?2 cm and showed a 104% improvement in volumetric specific power density over a two electrode DMFC configuration under passive conditions at ambient temperature and pressure (1 atm, 25 °C).     

A novel electrode architecture for passive direct methanol fuel cells

The supply of cathode reactants in a passive direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) relies on naturally breathing oxygen from ambient air. The successful operation of this type of passive fuel cell requires the overall mass transfer resistance of oxygen through the layered fuel cell structure to be minimized such that the voltage loss due to the oxygen concentration polarization can be reduced. In this work, we propose a new membrane electrode assembly (MEA), in which the conventional cathode gas diffusion layer (GDL) is eliminated while utilizing a porous metal structure for transporting oxygen and collecting current. We show theoretically that the new MEA enables a higher mass transfer rate of oxygen and thus better performance. The measured polarization and constant-current discharging behavior showed that the passive DMFC with the new MEA yielded better and much more stable performance than did the cell having the conventional MEA. The EIS spectrum analysis further demonstrated that the improved performance with the new MEA was attributed to the enhanced transport of oxygen as a result of the reduced mass transfer resistance in the fuel cell system.     

Investigations of flow field designs in direct methanol fuel cell

An experimental and simulation research had been performed to investigate the performance as well as the flow distribution in the cathode flow field in the case of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). The gas was well distributed in serpentine flow field, whereas stagnation of the gas was observed in parallel flow field. These would contribute to the cell performance greatly due to mass transfer effect when the cells start operating. In addition, the durability test of DMFC was drastically affected in parallel flow field due to poor ability to drain flooded water produced electrochemically at cathode and crossover from anode. In addition, pressure drops of different flow fields were also investigated to evaluate their contribution and feasibility as an economic application for DMFC. DMFC with serpentine flow field featuring higher pressure difference resulted in a larger parasitic energy demand. However, the optimal flow field designs are needed to balance the performance and pressure loss to achieve a uniform fluid distribution and simultaneously minimize energy demand for mass transport. Consequently, flow field with grid pattern appears to be the optimal design for the DMFC cathode.     

MEA with double-layered catalyst cathode to mitigate methanol crossover in DMFC

Methanol permeation is one of the key problems for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) applications. It is necessary to change the structure of the cathode of membrane electrode assembly (MEA). Therefore, a novel MEA with double-layered catalyst cathode was prepared in this paper. The double-layered catalyst consists of PtRu black as inner catalyst layer and Pt black as outer catalyst layer. The inner catalyst layer is prepared for oxidation of the methanol permeated from anode. The results indicate that this double-layered catalyst reduced the effects of methanol crossover and assimilated mixed potential losses. The performance of MEA with double-layered catalyst cathode was 52.2 mW cm⁻², which was a remarkable improvement compared with the performance of MEA with traditional cathode. The key factor responsible for the improved performance is the optimization of the electrode structure.     

Gas dynamics in channels of a gas-feed direct methanol fuel cell: exact solutions

The gas dynamics in channels on both sides of a gas-feed direct methanol fuel cell (DFMC) are considered. The basic equations for the flow velocity and density are derived, taking into account the mass and momentum transfer through the channel/backing layer interface. For the practical case of small inlet velocities the analog of the Bernoulli equation is formulated and the exact solution of nonlinear gas dynamics equations is obtained. It is shown that the flow in both the cathode and anode channels is incompressible (its density is constant) and electrochemical reactions affect only the flow velocity v. Simple formulae for v as a function of local current density and effective water drag coefficient are derived.     

降低直接甲醇燃料电池浓差极化的含磺化碳管阻水夹层的构建

采用直接接枝法, 将来自对氨基苯磺酸的苯磺酸官能团引入氧化多壁碳纳米管, 制得磺化多壁碳纳米管(SO₃-MCNT). 再以SO₃-MCNT为填料, 以Nafion离聚物为黏结剂, 利用超声喷涂在商业N212质子交换膜一侧构建了新的膜层, 获得了一种复合膜(SO₃-MCNT?N212). 使用SO₃-MCNT?N212制备燃料电池膜电极(MEA), 并用于直接甲醇燃料电池(DMFC)测试. 与使用普通N212膜的膜电极相比, 该膜电极的性能得到明显提升. 进一步分析表明, SO₃-MCNT膜层的引入降低了阳极向阴极的跨膜水迁移作用, 缓解了阴极的水淹, 从而降低了浓差极化, 提升了膜电极的性能.