An effective methanol-blocking membrane modified with graphene oxide nanosheets for passive direct methanol fuel cells

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• 作者：Ting Yuan ; Longjuan Pu ; Qinghong Huang ; Haifeng Zhang ; Xuemei Li ; Hui Yang
• 关键词：Methanol crossover ; Layer-by-layer ; Graphene oxide nanosheets ; Nafion® ; membrane ; Passive direct methanol fuel cell
• 刊名：Electrochimica Acta
• 出版年：20 January, 2014
• 年：2014
• 卷：117
• 期：Complete
• 页码：393-397
• 全文大小：1312 K

文摘

Methanol crossover through the proton exchange membrane from the anode to the cathode is a major obstacle for the development of the direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). This work focuses on the exploration of a novel methanol-blocking membrane prepared by layer-by-layer assembly of poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) and graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets onto the surface of Nafion^庐 membrane. Results demonstrate that the bilayers are methanol-blocking, which formed a dense and uniform thin film structure on the surface of Nafion^庐 film. The methanol permeability measurement across the composite membrane shows a decrease in methanol diffusion coefficient by 67% in comparison to the pristine membrane. The limiting current density on the cathode due to methanol crossover across the membrane with PDDA-GO bilayer structure is about 1/3 of that with pristine membrane, indicative of a reduction of methanol crossover by 63%. The use of Nafion^庐-PDDA-GO leads to the enhanced power density and improved energy efficiency of the passive DMFC. This study highlights the perspective of the application of GO as methanol-blocking thin film on the surface of Nafion^庐 membrane in the DMFC.