Direct glycerol fuel cell with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) thin film separator

Abstract

<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/anion-exchange" title="Learn more about Anion Exchange from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">Anion-exchange</a> membrane-based direct <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/glycerols" title="Learn more about Glycerols from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">glycerol</a> fuel cells (AEM-DGFCs) can yield high power density, however challenges exist in developing chemically stable AEMs. Here, we demonstrate a porous PTFE thin film, a well-known chemical, electro-chemical, and thermal robust material that can serve as a separator between <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/anodes-and-cathode" title="Learn more about Anodes and Cathode from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">anode and cathode</a>, thus achieving high DGFC’s performance. A simple <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/aqueous-phase" title="Learn more about Aqueous Phase from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">aqueous-phase</a> reduction method was used to prepare carbon nanotube supported PdAg nanoparticles (PdAg/CNT) with an average particle size of 2.9 nm. A DGFC using a PTFE thin film without any further modification with PdAg/CNT anode catalyst exhibits a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/peak-power-density" title="Learn more about Peak Power Density from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">peak power density</a> of 214.7 mW cm−2 at 80 °C, about 22.6% lower than a DGFC using a state-of-the-art AEM. We report a 5.8% decrease and 11.1% decrease in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/cell-voltage" title="Learn more about Cell Voltage from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">cell voltage</a> for a PTFE thin film and AEM; similarly, the cell voltage <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/degradation-rate" title="Learn more about Degradation Rate from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">degradation rate</a> decreases from 1.2 to 0.8 mV h−1 for PTFE thin film, while for AEM, it decreases from 9.6 to 3.0 mV h−1 over an 80 h durability test period. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/transmission-electron-microscopy" title="Learn more about Transmission Electron Microscopy from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">Transmission electron microscopy</a> results indicate that the average particle size of PdAg/CNT increases from 2.9 to 3.7 nm after 80 h discharge; this suggests that PdAg particle growth may be the main reason for the performance drop.</p>