• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.34 no.9
• /
• pp.2657-2662
• /
• 2013

Multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-g-poly (aniline-co-2,5-diaminobenzenesulfonic acid) (DABSA) reinforced Nafion$^{(R)}$ nanocomposite membranes were prepared and characterized for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). The nanocomposite membranes with approximately $90{\mu}m$ thickness were prepared by the water assisted solution casting method. To evaluate the properties of nanocomposite membranes for DMFC applications, the nanocomposite membranes were characterized by methanol and water uptake, thermal stability, and ion exchange capacity (IEC). Furthermore, oxidative stability measurements in terms of the hydrogen peroxide decomposition rate that represent the oxidative stability of the membranes were examined. The methanol uptake values of the nanocomposite membranes were dramatically decreased compared to the cast Nafion$^{(R)}$ membranes. The IEC values of the nanocomposite membranes were increased about 30% compared to the cast Nafion$^{(R)}$ membrane.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.47 no.3
• /
• pp.362-367
• /
• 2009

Recently, the use of formic acid as a fuel for direct liquid fuel cells has emerged as a promising alternative to methanol. In the work presented herein, we evaluated direct formic acid fuel cells(DFAFCs) with various components under operating conditions, for example, the thickness of the proton exchange membrane, concentration of formic acid, gas diffusion layer, and commercial catalyst. The thickness of the proton exchange membrane influenced performance related to the fuel cross-over. To optimize the cell performance, we investigated on the proper concentration of formic acid and catalyst for the formic acid oxidation. Consequently, membrance-electrode assembly(MEA) consisted of $Nafion^{(R)}$-115 and the Pt-Ru black as a anode catalyst showed the maximum performance. This performance was superior to the DMFCs' one.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
• /
• 1999.07d
• /
• pp.1824-1826
• /
• 1999

In order to develop key technologies for a kW class for polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC), various membranes (Nafion(112, 115, 117), Dow, Flemion, Gore, and Hanwha), and electrocatalysts (Pt/C, PtNi/C PtNiCo/C and PtRu/C) were used in the fabrication of the MEAs by using transfer printing technique. The effects of the thickness of Nafion membranes, electrocatalysts and the operating conditions (e.g. temperature, reactant gas pressure, and composition) on the performance of the MEA were investigated in the PEFC single cell($O_2/H_2$, and Air/$H_2$ cell). The performances of the MEAs for $O_2/H_2$ and Air/$H_2$ cells has been evaluated.

• Clean Technology
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.293-299
• /
• 2007

Direct coating of catalyst layer on the $Nafion^{(R)}$ membrane has been optimized in the process of fabrication of membrane electrode assembly (MEA) to enhance the performance of direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). In this method, the contact resistance at the interface of the catalyst layer and the membrane was found to be low. The effect of catalyst loading, thickness of membrane and the gas diffusion layer (GDL) with or without the presence of micro-porous layer (MPL) on the performance of the MEA was also investigated. The MEA fabricated by the above-mentioned method exhibited a performance of $147\;mW/cm^2$ and $100\;mW/cm^2$ at $80^{\circ}C$ and $60^{\circ}C$, respectively, with the catalysts loading of $4\;mg/cm^2$.