Hostname: page-component-5c6d5d7d68-7tdvq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-08-16T19:17:17.538Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Design and Simulation of methanol sensing devices using DMFC technology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 August 2015

Subramaniam Chittur K
Affiliation:
Materials Physics Department, VIT University, Vellore, TN, India. Endeavour Executive Fellow, College of Engineering and Science, Victoria University, Footscray, 3011 Victoria, Australia.
Muthuraja S
Affiliation:
School of Electronics Engineering, VIT University, Vellore, TN, India.
Get access

Abstract

Direct Methanol Fuel Cell, DMFC, technology, can be used for fabrication of sensors for volatile organic compounds like alcohols. A fundamental limitation in DMFC is methanol crossover. In this process methanol diffuses from the anode through the electrolyte to the cathode, where it reacts directly with the oxygen and produces no electrical current from the cell. This also results in poisoning of the cathode catalysts. The designed and fabrication of the sensor is by means of micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) fabrication technology with electrochemical inputs. To achieve this we have used a passive mode design protocol using COMSOL Multiphysics. The design and simulation would involve optimization of various parameters, in the construction of the cell. We can optimize the overall power density and hence the sensitivity of the sensor by the modification of various parameters like the area of the working electrodes, separation distance and the electrode-electrolyte interface. A passive mode design protocol, for a cm cell area, using various parametric functions, and interfacing Darcy’s law of fluidic flow through a porous medium, under specific pressure and temperature, was applied. The designing involves the construction of gas diffusion layers using carbon cloth for anode and cathode with various parametric variations. Nafion membrane was selected as proton exchange membrane for the construction with different interface structure to analyze the sensor’s performance. Platinum and various alloy catalysts like Pt-Ru, Pt-Fe, Pt-Sn and Pt-Mo was chosen as the working catalysts. The parametric functions of the cell were optimized for ampherometric detection. It is proposed to design a MEMS based sensor with microfludic interconnects and its response characteristics will be studied.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Yang, W.J., Wang, H.Y., and Kim, Y.B.. Channel geometry optimization using a 2D fuel cell model and its verification for a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 39(17):94309439, June 2014.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jiang, Rongzhong and Chu, Deryn. Water Crossover: A Challenge to DMFC System II. Simulation of Water Recycling in a 20 W DMFC System. J. Electrochem. Soc., 155(8):B804, August 2008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yang, W.W., Zhao, T.S., and Xu, C.. Three-dimensional two-phase mass transport model for direct methanol fuel cells. Electrochim. Acta, 53(2):853862, December 2007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yoon, Wonseok and Huang, Xinyu. A Multiphysics Model of PEM Fuel Cell Incorporating the Cell Compression Effects. J. Electrochem. Soc., 157(5):B680, May 2010.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dickinson, Edmund J.F., Ekström, Henrik, and Fontes, Ed. COMSOL Multiphysics®: Finite element software for electrochemical analysis. A mini-review. Electrochem. commun., 40:7174, March 2014.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scaramuzza, Matteo, Ferrario, Alberto, Pasqualotto, Elisabetta, and De Toni, Alessandro. Development of an Electrode/Electrolyte Interface Model Based on Pseudo-Distributed Elements Combining COMSOL, MATLAB and HSPICE. Procedia Chem., 6:6978, 2012.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ubong, E. U., Shi, Z., and Wang, X.. Three-Dimensional Modeling and Experimental Study of a High Temperature PBI-Based PEM Fuel Cell. J. Electrochem. Soc., 156(10):B1276, October 2009.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Motokawa, Shinji, Mohamedi, Mohamed, Momma, Toshiyuki, Shoji, Shuichi, and Osaka, Tetsuya. MEMS-based design and fabrication of a new concept micro direct methanol fuel cell (µ-DMFC). Electrochem. commun., 6(6):562565, June 2004.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallgren, K. and Sotiropoulos, S.. A Nafion®-based co-planar electrode amperometric sensor for methanol determination in the gas phase. J. Chem. Sci., 121(5):703709, November 2009.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kamarudin, S.K., Daud, W.R.W., Ho, S.L., and Hasran, U.A.. Overview on the challenges and developments of micro-direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC). J. Power Sources, 163(2):743754, January 2007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kulkarni, Abhay and Wang, Xia. Sensitivity Analysis of Some Key Gas Diffusion Layer Parameters in PEM Fuel Cells. In ECS Trans., volume 33, pages 2537. The Electrochemical Society, March 2011.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zimmerman, William B.. Electrochemical microfluidics. Chem. Eng. Sci., 66(7):14121425, April 2011.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Subramaniam, C. K., Rajalakshmi, N., Ramya, K., and Dhathathreyan, K. S.. High performance gas diffusion electrodes for PEMFC. Bull. Electrochem., 16(8):350353, 2000.Google Scholar
Nishanth, K. G., Sridhar, P., Pitchumani, S., and Shukla, A. K.. A DMFC with Methanol-Tolerant-Carbon-Supported-Pt-Pd-Alloy Cathode. J. Electrochem. Soc., 158(8):B871, August 2011.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mukerjee, Sanjeev. Role of Structural and Electronic Properties of Pt and Pt Alloys on Electrocatalysis of Oxygen Reduction. J. Electrochem. Soc., 142(5):1409, May 1995.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jiang, Rongzhong and Chu, Deryn. Water Crossover: A Challenge to DMFC System I. Experimental Determination of Water Crossover. J. Electrochem. Soc., 155(8):B798, August 2008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, J.G., Zhao, T.S., Chen, R., and Wong, C.W.. The effect of methanol concentration on the performance of a passive DMFC. Electrochem. commun., 7(3):288294, March 2005.Google Scholar
Gasteiger, Hubert A., Markovic, Nenad, Ross, Philip N., and Cairns, Elton J.. Carbon monoxide electrooxidation on well-characterized platinum-ruthenium alloys. J. Phys. Chem., 98(2):617625, January 1994.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guo, J.W., Zhao, T.S., Prabhuram, J., Chen, R., and Wong, C.W.. Preparation and characterization of a PtRu/C nanocatalyst for direct methanol fuel cells. Electrochim. Acta, 51(4):754763, November 2005.CrossRefGoogle Scholar