Single Wall Carbon Nanotube Supports for Portable Direct Methanol Fuel Cells
Single-wall and multiwall carbon nanotubes are employed as carbon supports in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC). The morphology and electrochemical activity of single-wall and multiwall carbon nanotubes obtained from different sources have been examined to probe the influence of carbon support on th...
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Published in | The journal of physical chemistry. B Vol. 110; no. 1; pp. 107 - 114 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
American Chemical Society
12.01.2006
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Single-wall and multiwall carbon nanotubes are employed as carbon supports in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC). The morphology and electrochemical activity of single-wall and multiwall carbon nanotubes obtained from different sources have been examined to probe the influence of carbon support on the overall performance of DMFC. The improved activity of the Pt−Ru catalyst dispersed on carbon nanotubes toward methanol oxidation is reflected as a shift in the onset potential and a lower charge transfer resistance at the electrode/electrolyte interface. The evaluation of carbon supports in a passive air breathing DMFC indicates that the observed power density depends on the nature and source of carbon nanostructures. The intrinsic property of the nanotubes, dispersion of the electrocatalyst and the electrochemically active surface area collectively influence the performance of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA). As compared to the commercial carbon black support, single wall carbon nanotubes when employed as the support for anchoring the electrocatalyst particles in the anode and cathode sides of MEA exhibited a ∼30% enhancement in the power density of a single stack DMFC operating at 70 °C. |
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Bibliography: | istex:697CC77FE2DB8B009E37008F8DDA4E3B85CA8419 ark:/67375/TPS-X52590C3-T ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1520-6106 1520-5207 |
DOI: | 10.1021/jp054764i |