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Novel composite membrane systems for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) have been fabricated and tested. These take the form of a multi-layered structure composing of a commercial Nafion membrane and a novel composite binding layer situated between the anode and the membrane. Within the composite binding layer, inorganic molecular sieve filler particles are evenly dispersed throughout the Nafion matrix presenting a barrier that impedes methanol crossover. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the DMFC performance using composite membrane systems with 3 different types of zeolite fillers. The best novel membrane system was found to yield over 40% improvement in maximum power output compared to the standard DMFC.

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Danu Suwatchara holds a Doctorate in Physical and Theoretical Chemistry from Oxford University. His research interests encompass the areas of fuel cell technology, microfluidic devices and electrode kinetics.

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