Direct Formic Acid PEM Fuel Cell with Electrospun Carbon Nitride Nanofibers as Cathode Catalyst

Abstract

AbstractCarbon nitride (CNx) nanofiber is tested as a cathode catalyst in the direct formic acid proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell at room temperature. CNx nanofiber is synthesized by electrospinning technique with polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as a supporting polymer and carbon black and Nafion® dispersion as fillers. Potassium permanganate (0.144M) is used as oxidant, due to its higher reduction potential (1.7 V) as compared to O2. CNx nanofibers show fuel cell activity with current density (23 mA cm−2) and power density (6.77 mW cm−2) comparable to Pt black catalyst loading (43 mA cm−2, 12.90 mW cm−2) at 300 mV.