Biomimetic Membranes for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

The proposed research effort is focused on developing a highly conducting, nanostructured membrane for use in high temperature direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC). Polymer nanofiber mats with high temperature stability and water retaining inorganic nanoparticles will be prepared through electrospinning process. The nanofiber mats will be compacted and the pores will be infiltrated using a hydrophobic sulfonated polymeric material and cross linked to the nanofibers to decrease the methanol permeability and maintain the conductivity at high temperatures (100 degrees C). Finally, the fabricated nanofiber based membrane will be tested for their proton conductivity and methanol permeability and will be compared with the Nafion counterpart. Based on the results obtained in Phase I, Phase II efforts will be focused on optimizing the membrane properties for developing a nanofiber based membrane stack for operating a 1W DMFC employing concentrated methanol (>15M).