Performance evaluation of passive alkaline direct methanol fuel cell-the effect of inorganic salt and TiO2 nano fillers

In order to address the shortcomings of proton exchange membrane operating in an acidic medium and anion exchange membrane using in an alkaline medium, the present study investigated the synthesis of polyvinyl alcohol-based sodium ion conducting membrane working in an alkaline medium for the direct methanol fuel cell. The merits of the alkaline medium and cation exchange membrane are exploited by the sodium ion conducting membrane developed for alkaline direct methanol fuel cells. Poly vinyl alcohol -titanium dioxide sodium ion conducting membrane is prepared by modified phase inversion technique using the salt solution as the non-solvent in the coagulation bath. The ionic conductivity, methanol permeability, and V-I characteristics of the cation exchange membrane were studied under ambient conditions. The performance of the poly vinyl alcohol-titanium dioxide membrane is studied in a passive direct methanol fuel cell, and it is compared with the Nafion 117/Na+ membrane and poly vinyl alcohol-based anion exchange membrane. Single cell assembly with poly vinyl alcohol-titanium dioxide membrane showed a 17.14 % increase in the power density as compared to Nafion 117/Na+ membrane and a 72.77 % increase as compared to poly vinyl alcohol-based anion exchange membrane operating in the alkaline environment under ambient conditions.

Automated summary

This study synthesized a polyvinyl alcohol-based sodium ion conducting membrane working in an alkaline medium and compared its performance with other types of membranes in direct methanol fuel cells. The results showed that the polyvinyl alcohol-titanium dioxide membrane has a higher power density in alkaline environments.