In situ formation of platinum nanoparticles in Nafion recast film for catalyst-incorporated ion-exchange membrane in fuel cell applications

Platinum (Pt) nanoparticles were synthesized inside a Nafion polyelectrolyte membrane for use as a catalyst membrane integrated layer in fuel cells. The integrated membrane was prepared by making use of the cation exchange between the tetraammineplatinum (II) cations ([Pt(NH₃)₄]²⁺) and sulfonic groups in the Nafion molecules, followed by film casting and chemical reduction. The synthesized Pt nanoparticles, which had a cubic shape with diameters of 11.5–14.5 nm, dispersed in the recast Nafion film, increased its proton conductivity and open circuit voltage compared with the pristine Nafion membrane. The Pt-incorporated membrane provided a 29% increment of the maximum power density, seemingly by oxidizing the crossover methanol passing through the proton-exchange membrane. At a high loading of Pt (over 3 wt.% in this study), the Nafion clusters were likely squeezed by the synthesized Pt nanoparticles so as to decrease the water uptake and proton conductivity. This hypothesis was also supported by the increased Ohmic resistance in the I–V polarization curve.     

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.     

Preparation and electrochemical behaviors of platinum nanoparticles impregnated on binary carbon supports as catalyst electrodes of direct methanol fuel cells

Binary carbon-supported platinum (Pt) nanoparticles were prepared by a chemical reduction method of Pt precursor on two types of carbon materials such as carbon blacks (CBs) and graphite nanofibers (GNFs). Average sizes and loading levels of Pt metal particles were dependent on a mixing ratio of two carbon materials. The highest electroactivity for methanol oxidation was obtained by preparing the binary carbon supports consisting of GNFs and CBs with a weight ratio of 30:70. Furthermore, with an increase of GNFs content from 0% to 30%, a charge-transfer resistance changed from 19 Ohm cm² to 11 Ohm cm². The change of electroactivity or the resistance of catalyst electrodes was attributed to the changes of specific surface area and morphological changes of carbon-supported catalyst electrodes by controlling the mixing ratio of GNFs and CBs.     

Direct methanol fuel cells for vehicular applications

Dramatic technological advances for the proton exchange membrane fuel cell have focused attention on this technology for motor vehicles. The fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) have the potential to compete with the petroleum-fueled internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) in cost and performance while effectively addressing air quality, energy insecurity, and global warming concerns. Methanol being a liquid can be easily transported and can be supplied from the existing network of oil company distribution sites. Recently, combining improved catalysts with fuel cell engineering, it has been possible to overcome some of the difficulties that have frustrated previous research and development efforts in realizing a commercially viable direct methanol fuel cell. Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) with power densities between 0.2 and 0.4 W/cm² at operational temperatures in the range 95–130 °C have been developed. These power densities are sufficient to suggest that stack construction is well worth while. This paper reviews recent advances and technical challenges in the field of DMFCs. Received: 27 May 1997 / Accepted: 25 November 1997     

On the open-circuit interaction between methanol and oxidized platinum electrodes

In the present work, results of the interaction between methanol and oxidized platinum surfaces as studied via transients of open-circuit potentials are presented. The surface oxidation before the exposure to interaction with 0.5 M methanol was performed at different polarization times at 1.4 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). In spite of the small changes in the initial oxide content, the increase of the pre-polarization time induces a considerable increase of the time needed for the oxide consumption during its interaction with methanol. The influence of the identity of the chemisorbing anion on the transients was also investigated in the following media: 0.1 M HClO₄, 0.5 M H₂SO₄, and 0.5 M H₂SO₄ + 0.1 mM Cl⁻. It was observed that the transient time increases with the energy of anion chemisorption and, more importantly, without a change in the shape of the transient, meaning that free platinum sites are available at the topmost layer all over the transient and not only in the potential region of small oxide ‘coverage’. The impact of the pre-polarization time and the effect of anion chemisorption on the transients are rationalized in terms of the presence of surface and subsurface oxygen driven by place exchange.

Supercritical carbon dioxide treated Nafion 212 commercial membranes for direct methanol fuel cells

Supercritical carbon dioxide (Sc-CO₂) thermal treatment to enhance performance of Nafion 212 (NR212) commercial membranes for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) is described. It is shown that the microstructure of NR212 membranes is re-organized after the Sc-CO₂ treatment, and then the performance of NR212 membranes is improved. Specifically the thinner NR212 membranes after the Sc-CO₂ treatments have higher proton conductivity and better capacity of barrier to methanol crossover compared with the thicker Nafion 117 membranes. It is demonstrated that the DMFC performance of the Sc-CO₂ treated NR212 membranes is better than that of Nafion 117 membranes.     

PtCeOx/C as a novel methanol-tolerant electrocatalyst of oxygen reduction for direct methanol fuel cells

A prominent methanol-tolerant characteristic of the PtCeO_x/C electrocatalyst was found during oxygen reduction reaction process. The carbon-supported platinum modified with cerium oxide (PtCeO_x/C) as cathode electrocatalyst for direct methanol fuel cells was prepared via a simple and effective route. The synthesized electrocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the cerium oxide within PtCeO_x/C present in an amorphous form on the carbon support surface and the PtCeO_x/C possesses almost similar disordered morphological structure and slightly smaller particle size compared with the unmodified Pt/C catalyst.     

Proton exchange membrane using partially sulfonated polystyrene-b-poly(dimethylsiloxane) for direct methanol fuel cell

A diblock copolymer ionomer containing a rubbery poly(dimethylsiloxane) block has been developed as a proton exchange membrane for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). The partially sulfonated polystyrene-b-poly(dimethylsiloxane) (sPS-b-PDMS) membrane with 38% sulfonation degree exhibited 3 times lower methanol permeability and 2.6 times higher membrane selectivity (proton conductivity/methanol permeability) compared to Nafion^® 115 at 25 °C. Coexistence of microphase domains and ionic clusters was confirmed from the morphological studies by small-angle X-ray scattering and tapping-mode atomic force microscopy. Gas chromatographic analysis revealed that water/methanol selectivity of sPS-b-PDMS was 20 times higher than that of Nafion^® 115. Such a high water/methanol selectivity can be attributed to the existence of PDMS microdomains minimizing methanol permeation through hydrophilic ion channels. sPS-b-PDMS membranes were fabricated into membrane electrode assembly (MEA), and air-breathing DMFC test for these MEAs showed a better performance compared to the MEA composed of Nafion^® 115.     

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.     

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.     

An NMR study of methanol diffusion in polymer electrolyte fuel cell membranes

Methanol diffusion in two polymer electrolyte membranes, Nafion 117 and BPSH 40 (a 40% disulfonated wholly aromatic polyarylene ether sulfone), was measured using a modified pulsed field gradient NMR method. This method allowed for the diffusion coefficient of methanol within the membrane to be determined while immersed in a methanol solution of known concentration. A second set of gradient pulses suppressed the signal from the solvent in solution, thus allowing the methanol within the membrane to be monitored unambiguously. Over a methanol concentration range of 0.5–8 M, methanol diffusion coefficients in Nafion 117 were found to increase from 2.9 × 10⁻⁶ to 4.0 × 10⁻⁶ cm² s⁻¹. For BPSH 40, the diffusion coefficient dropped significantly over the same concentration range, from 7.7 × 10⁻⁶ to 2.5 × 10⁻⁶cm² s⁻¹. The difference in diffusion behavior is largely related to the amount of solvent sorbed by the membranes. Increasing the methanol concentration results in an increase in solvent uptake for Nafion 117, while BPSH 40 actually excludes the solvent at higher concentrations. In contrast, diffusion of methanol measured via permeability measurements (assuming a partition coefficient of 1) was lower (1.3 × 10⁻⁶ and 6.4 × 10⁻⁷ cm² s⁻¹ for Nafion 117 and BPSH 40 respectively) and showed no concentration dependence. The differences observed between the two techniques are related to the length scale over which diffusion is monitored and the partition coefficient, or solubility, of methanol in the membranes as a function of concentration. For the permeability measurements, this length is equal to the thickness of the membrane (178 and 132 μm for Nafion 117 and BPSH 40 respectively) whereas the NMR method observes diffusion over a length of approximately 4–8 μm. Regardless of the measurement technique, BPSH 40 is a greater barrier to methanol permeability at high methanol concentrations.     

以切短多壁碳纳米管为载体制备高活性Pt/SCNT及PtRu/SCNT燃料电池催化剂

采用乙醇为助磨剂,利用球磨的方法将5-15μm长的多壁碳纳米管切短成长度约为200nm,并且分布较为均匀的短碳纳米管(SCNT).以SCNT为载体,采用有机溶胶法制得了含铂20%(w)的Pt/SCNT及PtRu/SCNT催化剂.实验发现:对于甲醇的阳极电氧化过程,以切短碳纳米管为载体的Pt/SCNT催化剂具有比相同条件制得的Pt/CNT催化剂高得多的催化活性,前者甲醇氧化峰电流密度是后者的1.4倍,并且远远高于商品的Pt/C催化剂.同时我们发现添加了钌的PtRu/SCNT具有比不含钌的催化剂更好的活性.采用X射线衍射(XRD)、透射电镜(TEM)、比表面积分析(BET)等方法对催化剂进行表征,结果表明,切短碳纳米管的晶相结构并未改变,但Pt/SCNT和PtRu/SCNT催化剂的比表面积和电化学活性得到了显著的提高.     

不同方法制备Pt/C催化剂对燃料电池催化活性的影响

分别采用高压有机溶剂法和回流法不同的制备方法,制备了含铂20%(w)的催化剂Pt/C-HP(高压有机溶剂法)和Pt/C-Reflux(回流法)。实验发现:对于甲醇的阳极氧化过程,高压有机溶胶法制得的催化剂活性较高,催化剂Pt/C-HP甲醇氧化峰电流密度是Pt/C-Reflux的1.5倍,且远远高于商业催化剂JM3000含铂20%(w)Pt/C催化剂,催化剂Pt/C-Reflux甲醇氧化峰电流密度与商业催化剂JM3000催化剂相当。采用X射线衍射(XRD)、透射电镜(TEM)、循环伏安法(CV)等方法对催化剂进行表征的结果表明:高压有机溶胶法制得的催化剂分散性比回流法制得的催化剂好,使得前者催化剂的电化学活性比表面积得到了显著的提高。     

Electrocatalytic activities of binary and ternary composite electrodes of Pd, nanocarbon and Ni for electro-oxidation of methanol in alkaline medium

Films of binary and ternary composites of Pd, nanocarbon (C), and Ni are obtained on glassy carbon electrodes and investigated as electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation (MOR) in alkaline medium. Results show that among the electrocatalysts investigated, the apparent electrocatalytic activity of the Pd-0.5%C electrode is the greatest and that it decreases with increasing percentage of C in the composite. The Pd-0.5%C composite electrode has approximately two times higher activity than that of Pd electrode for MOR under similar experimental conditions. Introduction of Ni (1–2%) into the active Pd-0.5%C catalyst somewhat declines the apparent electrocatalytic activity of the electrode. The onset potential for MOR is observed to be the greatest negative at the Pd-0.5%C composite electrode, which gets shifted towards noble side by 80–100 mV with addition of Ni (1–2%).     

Sulfonated polysulfone with 1,3-1H-dibenzimidazole-benzene additive as a membrane for direct methanol fuel cells

1,3-1H-Dibenzimidazole-benzene (DBImBenzene) has been synthesized using phosphorus pentoxide-methanesulfonic acid (PPMA) as a solvent and dehydration agent and investigated as an additive (up to 2.0 wt.%) in sulfonated polysulfone (SPSf) membranes to promote proton conduction via acid–base interactions. The SPSf/DBImBenzene blend membranes with various DBImBenzene contents (0–2.0 wt.%) have been prepared and characterized by proton conductivity measurement and electrochemical polarization and methanol crossover measurements in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). The blend membranes with DBImBenzene content of 0.5 and 1.0 wt.% show higher proton conductivities (3.4 and 2.9 × 10⁻⁴ S/cm, respectively) than plain SPSf (2.4 × 10⁻⁴ S/cm) even though the blend membranes have lower ion exchange capacity (0.81 and 0.75 mequiv./g, respectively) than plain SPSf (0.86 mequiv./g). The blend membranes exhibit better electrochemical performance in DMFC than plain SPSf membrane due to an enhancement in proton conductivity through acid–base interactions and lower methanol crossover.     

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。     

Methanol Oxidation over TiO_2-modified Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes Supported Pt-Mo Electrocatalyst

In order to develop a novel and high-performance catalytic material for direct methanol fuel cells(DMFC), molybdenum oxide as a co-catalyst with Pt on multi-walled carbon nanotubes which were modified by titanium dio-xide(denoted as CNTs@TiO2) was investigated. The physicochemical characterizations of the catalysts were carried out via X-ray diffraction(XRD), transmission electron microscopy(TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS). Cyclic voltammetry(CV) showed that the CO-tolerance performance incre...     

Electrodeposited Pt and Pt-Sn nanoparticles on Ti as anodes for direct methanol fuel cells

Electro-oxidation of methanol was studied on titanium supported nanocrystallite Pt and Pt_x-Sn_y catalysts prepared by electrodeposition techniques. Their electro-catalytic activities were studied in 0.5mol/L H₂SO₄ and compared to those of a smooth Pt, Pt/Pt and Pt-Sn/Pt electrodes. Platinum was deposited on Ti by galvanostatic and potentiostatic techniques. X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) techniques were applied in order to investigate the chemical composition and the phase structure of the modified electrodes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to characterize the surface morphology and to correlate the results obtained from the two electrochemical deposition methods. Results show that modified Pt/Ti electrodes prepared by the two methods have comparable performance and enhanced catalytic activity towards methanol electro-oxidation compared to Pt/Pt and smooth Pt electrodes. Steady state Tafel plots experiments show a higher rate of methanol oxidation on a Pt/Ti catalyst than that on a smooth Pt.  Introduction of a small amount of Sn deposited with Pt improves the catalytic activity and the stability of prepared electrode with time as indicated from the cyclic votlammetry and the chronoamperometric experiments. The effect of variations in the composition for binary catalysts of the type Pt_x-Sn_y/Ti towards the methanol oxidation reaction is reported. Consequently, the Pt_x-Sn_y/Ti (x∶y (8∶1), molar ratio) catalyst is a very promising one for methanol oxidation.     

Effect of the fuel electrode composition and structure on the performance of the direct methanol fuel cell

The effect the composition and structure of the active layer of the anode exerts on the performance of the solid-polymer direct methanol fuel cell is studied experimentally. It is shown that the ohmic voltage losses in the layer and the content of the solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) play an important role. The performance of the fuel cells is the best at 20–25 vol % SPE in the layer.     

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.