• Navigation
  • Energy
    • Micro Fuel Cell
      • Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
        • Electrode
          • Atomic Layer Deposition
          • Pulsed Laser Deposition
          • Triple-Phase Boundary
        • Electrolyte
          • Atomic Force Microscope
          • Ion Highway
          • Kinetic Monte Carlo
          • Thin Film
      • Direct Methanol Fuel Cells
        • Area Specific Resistance
      • Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell
      • References
    • Atomic Force Microscope

• Micro Fuel Cell
• Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

The RPL is using its expertise in thin solid films to attack the power limitation batteries impose on portable electronic devices. An all solid state DMFC may avoid the challenges of fuel crossover and catalyst poisoning faced by polymer electrolyte DMFCs.

The solid oxide electrolyte Ba(Zr_xY_1-x)O₃ (BYZ) has relatively high protonic conductivity at low temperatures. By making electrolytes on the order of 10nm thick, we can build a DMFC with an acceptable area specific resistance (ASR). The solid material will prevent methanol crossover, which lowers device efficiency by losing fuel, blocking catalyst sites on the cathode, and consuming oxidant at the cathode.

In addition, a solid electrolyte can serve as the scaffolding for more complicated electrode structures. For example, a zeolite decorated with catalyst material may serve as an excellent catalyst, and may be fabricated on the solid electrolyte.

Figure 1: DMFC Model