Direct Dimethyl Ether Fuel Cell with Much Improved Performance

Qing Li,Gang Wu,Christina M Johnston,Piotr Zelenay

doi:10.1007/s12678-014-0196-z

Qing Li, Gang Wu + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12678-014-0196-z

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Abstract

Due to several apparent advantages over methanol, dimethyl ether (DME) has been viewed as a promising alternative fuel for direct fuel cell technology. Similar to methanol, DME oxidation requires a surface oxidant, such as OH, for the removal of adsorbed CO. Consequently, the reaction occurs at much faster rates on binary PtRu catalysts than Pt alone. In this work, PtRu catalysts with a wide variety of Pt-to-Ru ratios were systematically studied in the direct DME fuel cell (DDMEFC) operating at 80 °C. A Pt50Ru50 catalyst was found to perform the best at high and middle voltages, while a Pt80Ru20 catalyst performed best at low voltages. DDMEFC operation conditions, such as DME flow rate, anode back pressure, DME-to-water molar ratio, and membrane thickness, were also studied in order to maximize the cell performance. A maximum power density of 0.12 W cm−2 obtained in this work exceeds the highest reported DME performance. In comparison with the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), the optimized DDMEFC performs better at cell voltages higher than 0.55 and 0.49 V with feed concentrations of methanol of 0.5 and 1.0 M, respectively.

Highlights

The rapid development of portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones, notebooks, and digital cameras, has significantly increased the demand for high-output power sources
The direct DME fuel cell (DDMEFC) open-cell voltage (OCV) and current density at different fuel cell voltage values are shown as a function of the Pt content in PtRu catalysts in panels a and b, OCV (V)
Pt Fig. 2 a OCV and b DDMEFC current density at different voltages as a function of Pt content in the PtRu catalysts electrooxidation, the Ru addition resulted in an increase in the activation energy of dimethyl ether (DME) electrooxidation from 46 kJ mol−1 on Pt/C to 57 kJ mol−1 on PtRu/C [10]

Summary

Introduction

The rapid development of portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones, notebooks, and digital cameras, has significantly increased the demand for high-output power sources. Studied is the effect of fuel cell operation conditions, such as the DME flow rate, anode back pressure, DME-to-water molar ratio, and membrane thickness.

Results

Conclusion