Reduced Graphene Oxide/Carbon Paper for the Anode Diffusion Layer of a Micro Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

The diffusion layer (DL) in the structure of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) of a micro direct methanol fuel cell (mu DMFC) plays an essential role in reactant/product mass transfer and catalyst loading. The material selection and structure design of the mu DMFC affects its performance. In this work, a reduced graphene oxide/carbon paper (rGO/CP) was proposed and prepared for the anode DL of a mu DMFC. It was prepared using electrophoretic sedimentation combined with an in situ reduction method. The rGO/CP reduced the cell's ohmic and charge transfer resistances. Meanwhile, it provided more significant mass transfer resistance to reduce the methanol crossover, allowing the cell to operate stably at higher concentrations for a longer duration than conventional mu DMFCs. The experimental results showed that the maximum power density increased by 53% compared with the traditional anode DL of carbon paper.

Automated summary

In the structure of mu DMFC, the anode diffusion layer composed of reduced graphene oxide/carbon paper (rGO/CP) plays a crucial role in improving fuel cell performance. The rGO/CP not only reduces the resistance of the cell, but also decreases methanol crossover, enabling the cell to operate stably at higher concentrations for a longer duration.