Development of possible technologies for the generation of green energy is the focus of research worldwide. Fuel cells are a promising option in this regard. Out of the various categories of fuel cells, air breathing–direct methanol fuel cells (AB‐DMFCs) are finding a prominent place as an electric power source for charging of compact electronic devices. In AB‐DMFC, the design and construction of the cathode current collector is very crucial, since the cathode current collector performs important functions in the fuel cell operation such as collecting the electrons, facilitating the flow of oxygen for the cathode reaction and evacuating the water bubbles formed at the cathode side. An ideal current collector improves the cell performance multifold. The present paper deals about the performance of an AB‐DMFC fitted with three different cathode current collector designs, viz., a wire mesh current collector (WMCC) made of SS316L, WMCC with a supporting plate (SP) and a perforated current collector (PCC) with an open ratio of 45.40%. A single serpentine flow channel engraved on a graphite plate was used as the anode flow channel plate. Experimental investigations are carried out to examine the impact of the cathode current collector design on the performance of AB‐DMFC and also by varying the operating parameters of methanol flow rate and concentration. The next stage of the experiments are carried out with the addition of a liquid electrolyte layer (LE), which is kept between two half Membrane Electrode Assemblies. Experimental results reveal that the LE layer enhances the fuel cell performance compared to conventional AB‐DMFC.

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带有液体电解质层的不同阴极集电器的直接呼吸式甲醇燃料电池的性能评估

开发可能的技术来生产绿色能源是全球研究的重点。在这方面，燃料电池是一个有前途的选择。在各种类型的燃料电池中，空气呼吸直接甲醇燃料电池（AB-DMFC）可以作为紧凑型电子设备充电的电源而占有重要地位。在AB‐DMFC中，阴极集电器的设计和构造非常关键，因为阴极集电器在燃料电池操作中起着重要的作用，例如收集电子，促进用于阴极反应的氧气流和排空水在阴极侧形成气泡。理想的集电器可将电池性能提高数倍。本文讨论了AB‐DMFC的性能，该设备配有三种不同的阴极集电器设计，即由SS316L制成的丝网集电器（WMCC），带有支撑板（SP）的WMCC和多孔集电器（ PCC）的开放比例为45.40％。刻在石墨板上的单个蛇形流道用作阳极流道板。进行了实验研究，以检查阴极集电器设计对AB-DMFC性能的影响，并通过改变甲醇流速和浓度的运行参数来进行研究。实验的下一阶段是通过添加液体电解质层（LE）来进行的，该液体电解质层保持在两个半膜电极组件之间。