Study on the Synthesis of CNTs and the Fabrication of CNTs-Based MEA for DMFC Application

Abstract

ABSTRACTA fuel cell (FC) generates electricity by chemical reactions. The catalyst dispersion in membrane electrode assembly (MEA) of FC is a crucial factor to affect the performance of the cell. A novel grafting method is adopted in this study to grow secondary carbon nano-tubes (CNTs) on a substrate comprised of primary CNTs, in order to form branchy CNTs with higher specific surface area (SSA). The as-obtained branchy CNTs are then used as catalyst, Pt, carriers in the MEA of direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). A self-assembled DMFC of air-breathing type with active MEA area of 2 × 2 cm2 is used in this study as the standard FC for the electrical performance test. The peak power of DMFC comprised of an MEA with sole primary CNTs is 0.002 watts at 0.15 V. Such peak power can be increased up to 0.01 watts at 0.4 V for the replaced MEA with new branchy CNTs. The open circuit voltages (OCVs) are 0.4 V and 0.6 V for DMFCs with MEAs of sole primary CNTs and branchy CNTs, respectively. Furthermore, the patterns of CNTs was designed to provide micro-channels of fuel. The pattern growth of CNTs have been fabricated by selective area growth method in this research.