Investigation of novel membrane synthesized with nanostructured metal oxanes for direct methanol fuel cell
An iron-based ceramic material is a good candidate as membrane material for PEMFC with conductivities ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 × 10-2 S/cm at 58-100% RH. These membranes have comparable conductivity to the Nafion membrane with the advantages of lower material costs, and the ability to operate at higher temperatures. However, fuel crossover through the membrane is one of the biggest challenges for PEMFC. The permeability of methanol through these ceramic membranes was studied. Iron oxide nanoparticles (ferroxane) and aluminum oxide nanoparticles (alumoxane) were synthesized via an environmentally benign process, alternative to sol-gel process. Ceramic chips of ferroxanes and alumoxanes were prepared to study their suitability in fuel cell applications. The protonic conductivity was evaluated with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The methanol permeability was studied with a diffusion cell and the methanol flux through the membrane was determined. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 230th ACS National Meeting (Washington, DC 8/28/2005-9/1/2005).
