Performance of special-shaped direct ethanol fuel cell with Pt-SnO 2/C catalyst

The MCMB/G sintered tube with graphite doping was used as cathode supporter to prepare the diffusion layer and catalyst layer. The cathode tube was wrapped with Nafion 117 membrane to be assembled into special-shaped direct ethanol fuel cell. A carbon supported Pt-SnO 2/C catalyst was prepared by hydrothermal method and characterized by XRD, TEM and EDS. The special-shaped direct ethanol fuel cell (SDEFC) performance with Pt-SnO 2/C catalyst was determined by linear cyclic voltammetry (LCV) technique and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS). The effects of work temperature and O 2 flow rate on cell polarization performance were also investigated.The results show that the impedance of the special-shaped cell is higher than that of traditional flat electrode, but decreases obviously after being activated. The power density of SDEFC with Pt-SnO 2/C catalyst can reach 8.5 mW·cm -2 at 60°C.