Potential ofNafion/eggshell composite membrane for application in direct methanol fuel cell

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) have great potential for portable electronics applications. However, several problems, such as methanol crossover and the cost of Nafion membranes, restrict the commercialisation of this technology. The main objective of this study was to produce a high-selectivity membrane from waste material. Following the current trend of 'waste-to-wealth', eggshell powder is selected as the filler in the Nafion matrix. The materials are analysed using physical and electrochemical characterisation. The composite membrane with a 3 wt% filler content resulted in the highest selectivity of 28.73 x 10(4) S s cm(-3), proton conductivity of 0.2414 S cm(-1)and methanol permeability of 8.40 x 10(-7)cm(2)s(-1). The single-cell performance test shows that the power density is 19.34 mW cm(-2)for the composite membrane and that it has comparable performance with a commercial Nafion 117 membrane. These results confirm the potential of eggshell powder to be incorporated as a filler in a Nafion matrix for applications in DMFC.

Automated summary

By using waste material eggshell powder to produce a composite membrane, the problems in direct methanol fuel cells can be addressed, with the performance of the composite membrane comparable to that of commercial Nafion 117 membrane. The results demonstrate the potential of eggshell powder as a filler in a Nafion matrix for applications in DMFC.