Improvement of DMFC performance by morphological control of electrode

Abstract

The performance of DMFC is strongly affected by the electrode as well as the membrane. A high-performance electrode requires high catalyst utilization and good adhesion between the membrane and electrode. These properties are influenced by the component materials and fabrication process of the electrode. Membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) with dissimilar polymeric materials in the membrane and electrode layers are occurred to exhibit higher interfacial resistance compared to MEAs with similar materials in the two layers. In this study, hydrocarbon binder (SPI) was designed to fabricate a desirable MEA based on sulfonated polyimide membrane. By morphological analysis, the effect of B1 binder on electrode properties and on the cell performance was investigated.