1. Alkaline Methanol Fuel Cell Tam Duong Dr. Yushan Yan

2. Fuel Cell  Electrochemical device  Convert chemical energy into electricity  Having two electrodes: Positive (cathode) and Negative (anode)  Reaction with the presence of electrolyte.  Working depends on the catalyst

3. System Cell system with rotating disk, reference electrode, platinum wire, and gas vent.

4. Why Methanol Fuel Cell?  Methanol has high energy density.  Easy to store in liquid state in room temperature.  Fuel cell works as a battery that doesn’t go down or need to be charged.  Highly promising to serve as a power source for cell phones, and laptops.  Reduce the pollution

5. Methanol Fuel Cell  Alkaline Methanol Fuel Cell: Hydroxide flow from cathode to anode.  Waste Products: Water and Carbon Dioxide  Toxic and flammable  In 2005, ICAO (International Civil Avitation Organization) DGP (Dangerous Food Panel) voted to allow passengers to carry and uses micro fuel cell when travelling aboard. Current

6. Basic Information  Nafion membrane (ionomer)  Qualified Power (W): 100 kW to 1MW  Working temperature: 90 – 120 deg C  Electrical efficiency: -Cell : 20-30% -System: 10-20%  Typical fuel cell: 0.6 – 0.7 V

7. Method of Collecting Data  Coating the glassy carbon electrode with the calculated volume of catalyst Sample Volume = (Electrode Area)*(Loading/Area)*(Solution Concentration) 10 ul of.05% Nafion  Making 250 mL electrolyte (0.1M KOH)  Setting the cell up with Pt wire and the reference electrode  Connecting the gas vent  Blowing gas into the cell and record data

8. Cyclic Voltammetry  One type of potential electrochemical measurement. (Potential scanning)  Forward sweep: reversible oxidation  Reversed sweep: Reduction  Used to calculate the surface area mA V Oxidatio n Reductio n Basic Shape of a CV curve

9. Tested Samples Loadings (µg/cm 2 ) ORR (without MeOH) ORR (With MeOH) MORHOR Ag/C50++-- Ag/C100++-- AgNW50++-- AgNW100++-- AgNW600++-- Au100++-- SeNW300++-- PdNT50++++ Pd/Pt100++++ Pd/Pt150++++ Ni320++-- Table of Samples and Results

10. Calculating the Theoretical Surface Area Calculating Experimental Surface Area Area (CV graph) [mA.V] x speed [1/V] x ratio [mC/mA] Constant [mC/cm 2 ] x loading [µg/cm 2 ] x area (electrode) [cm 2 ] x 0.77

11. ETEK with Nafion (ORR) ORR curve without methanol at 5 mV/s scanning speed ORR curve with methanol at 5 mV/s scanning speed

12. ETEK with Nafion (HOR and MOR) HOR curve with 300 rpm at 5 mV/s scanning speed MOR curve at 50 mV/s scanning speed

13. SeNW (ORR)

14. SeNW (HOR and MOR) HOR curve with 300 rpm at 5 mV/s scanning speed MOR curve at 50 mV/s scanning speed

15. Gold NanoTube (ORR)

16. Gold NanoTube (HOR and MOR) HOR with 300 rpm at 5 mV/s MOR at 50 mV/s

17. Palladium Nanotube ORR with 1600 rpm at 5 mV/s Chronoamperometry at -0.15 V vs Hg/HgO

18. Palladium Nanotube (HOR and MOR) HOR with 300 rpm at 5 mV/s MOR at 50 mV/s

19. Silver Nanowire 600 µg (ORR)

20. Silver Nanowire 600 µg (MOR)

21. Silver Nanowire (100 µg) HOR with 300 rpm at 5 mV/s ORR with 1600 rpm at 5 mV/s

22. Silver Nanowire 50ug (ORR)

23. Silver Nanowire 50ug (HOR and MOR) HOR with 300 rpm at 5 mV/s MOR at 50 mV/s

24. Palladium and Platinum ORR with 1600 rpm at 5 mV/s Chronoamperometry at -0.15 V vs Hg/HgO

25. Palladium/Platinum (HOR and MOR) HOR with 300 rpm at 5 mV/s MOR at 50 mV/s

26. Ag/C (ORR) ORR_Ag/C (50 ug/cm 2 )ORR_Ag/C (100 ug/cm 2 )

27. Conclusion Platinum nanotube, palladium nanotube work for HOR, MOR, and ORR. Silver on carbon, silver nanowires, gold nanotube, selenium nanowires work for ORR even with methanol. Future Work Testing platinum/silver alloy Making silver nanowires