Methanol crossover through a polymer electrolyte membrane has numerous negative effects on direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) because it decreases the cell voltage due to a mixed potential (occurrence of both oxygen reduction and methanol oxidation reactions) at the cathode, lowers the overall fuel utilization and contributes to long-term membrane degradation. In this work, an investigation of methanol transport properties of composite membranes based on sulfonated polysulfone (sPSf) and modified silica filler is carried out using the PFG-NMR technique, mainly focusing on high methanol concentration (i.e., 5 M). The influence of methanol crossover on the performance of DMFCs equipped with low-cost sPSf-based membranes operating with 5 M methanol solution at the anode is studied, with particular emphasis on the composite membrane approach. Using a surface-modified-silica filler into composite membranes based on sPSf allows reducing methanol cross-over of 50% compared with the pristine membrane, making it a good candidate to be used as polymer electrolyte for high energy DMFCs.
Keywords: PFG-NMR; acidic silica; direct methanol fuel cells; methanol crossover; sulfonated polysulfone.