Journal of Power Sources, Vol.91, No.2, 202-209, 2000
Influence of flow field design on the performance of a direct methanol fuel cell
Serpentine (SFF) and interdigitated (IFF) flow fields were investigated with regard to their use in a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). The DMFC equipped with SFFs showed lower methanol cross-over, higher fuel utilisation and slightly larger voltage efficiency at low current densities. IFFs enhanced mass transport and membrane humidification allowing to achieve high power densities of 450 and 290 mW cm(-2) in the presence of oxygen and air feed, respectively, at 130 degreesC. A fuel efficiency of 90% was obtained with the IFFs in the presence of 1 M methanol feed at 130 degreesC and a current load of 500 mA cm(-2).
Keywords:direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs);Pt-Ru catalysts;interdigitated flow fields;mass-transport;unsupported catalysts;fuel cell performance