ADVANCES IN DIRECT OXIDATION METHANOL FUEL-CELLS

Fuel cells that can operate directly on fuels such as methanol are att ractive for low to medium power applications in view of their low weig ht and volume relative to other power sources. A liquid feed direct me thanol fuel cell has been developed based on a proton-exchange membran e electrolyte and Pt/Ru and Pt-catalyzed fuel and air/O-2 electrodes, respectively. The cell has been shown to deliver significant power out puts at temperatures of 60 to 90 degrees C. The cell voltage is near 0 .5 V at 300 mA/cm(2) current density and an operating temperature of 9 0 degrees C. A deterrent to performance appears to be methanol crossov er through the membrane to the oxygen electrode. Further improvements in performance appear possible by minimizing the methanol crossover ra te.