A High-Performance Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Technology Enabled by Mediating High-Concentration Methanol through Graphene Aerogel

We demonstrate a facile methodology to fabricate graphene aerogel (GA), and its application in direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) for the first time. A new GADMFC design was proposed by using GA to replace two main components within the DMFC - gas diffusion layer (GDL) and flow flied plate (FFP). Results indicate a 24.95 mW / cm2 maximum power density of air polarisation was obtained at 25°C. The membrane electrolyte assembly (MEA) has a 63.8% mass reduction compared to ordinary one, which induced 3 times higher mass power density. Benefiting from its excellent organic solvent absorbency, the methanol cross over effect has been dramatically suppressed while using 12 M methanol, therefore, higher concentration or even pure methanol can be refilled into the fuel cell. Due to the excellent fuel storage function of GA, the methanol cartridge and complicated fuel circulation system in DMFC can be eliminated, which can reduce manufacturing cost for DMFC. We expect this research will promote the application of GA in fuel cell applications, as well as shed a light on the novel fuel cell technology to address future energy challenges.