{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T20:20:56Z","timestamp":1760300456109,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,5]],"date-time":"2020-10-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1601856000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e a Tecnologia","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["PTDC\/EQU-EQU\/32116\/2017 - POCI-01-0145-FEDER-032116"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PTDC\/EQU-EQU\/32116\/2017 - POCI-01-0145-FEDER-032116"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002322","name":"Coordena\u00e7\u00e3o de Aperfei\u00e7oamento de Pessoal de N\u00edvel Superior","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["BEX 12997\/13-7"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BEX 12997\/13-7"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002322","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Energies"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Passive direct methanol fuel cells (pDMFCs) are promising devices to replace the conventional batteries in portable electronic devices, due to their higher energy densities, autonomies, and instant recharging. However, some challenges, such as their costs, efficiency, and durability, need to be overcome before their commercialization. Towards that, this work presents the effect of the anode diffusion layer (ADL) properties on the performance of a pDMFC using a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) with reduced loadings on both anode and cathode catalysts (3 mg\/cm2 Pt\/Ru on the anode and 1.3 mg\/cm2 of Pt on the cathode). The pDMFC behavior was evaluated through polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements, which allow identifying and quantifying the different losses that affect these systems. The results showed better performances when a diffusion layer with a dual-layer structure was used using higher methanol concentrations. The maximum power density achieved was 3.00 mW\/cm2, using carbon cloth with a microporous layer, CC_MPL, as ADL, and a methanol concentration of 5 M. In this work, a tailored and low-cost MEA, using the materials available in the market, was proposed to achieve higher performances working under higher methanol concentrations. This work demonstrates that performing modifications on the fuel cell structure\/design is an efficient way to achieve optimized performances.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/en13195198","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,6]],"date-time":"2020-10-06T10:46:17Z","timestamp":1601981177000},"page":"5198","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["Experimental Evaluation of the Effect of the Anode Diffusion Layer Properties on the Performance of a Passive Direct Methanol Fuel Cell"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Beatriz A.","family":"Braz","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"CEFT-DEQ, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), Rua Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"V\u00e2nia B.","family":"Oliveira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CEFT-DEQ, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), Rua Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Alexandra M. F. R.","family":"Pinto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CEFT-DEQ, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), Rua Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6902","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijhydene.2009.06.013","article-title":"Overview on the application of direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) for portable electronic devices","volume":"34","author":"Kamarudin","year":"2009","journal-title":"Int. J. Hydrogen Energy"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1087","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rser.2016.09.002","article-title":"Approaches to overcome the barrier issues of passive direct methanol fuel cell\u2014Review","volume":"67","author":"Munjewar","year":"2017","journal-title":"Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"19455","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijhydene.2016.06.116","article-title":"Effect of anode diffusion layer (GDL) on the performance of a passive direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC)","volume":"41","author":"Oliveira","year":"2016","journal-title":"Int. J. Hydrogen Energy"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9252","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijhydene.2016.03.094","article-title":"Applications of graphene nano-sheets as anode diffusion layers in passive direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC)","volume":"42","author":"Ong","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. J. Hydrogen Energy"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5408","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijhydene.2015.01.034","article-title":"Development and performance analysis of a metallic passive micro-direct methanol fuel cell for portable applications","volume":"40","author":"Pereira","year":"2015","journal-title":"Int. J. Hydrogen Energy"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21620","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijhydene.2014.03.147","article-title":"Effect of anode MPL on water and methanol transport in DMFC: Experimental and modeling analyses","volume":"39","author":"Zago","year":"2014","journal-title":"Int. J. Hydrogen Energy"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"304","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpowsour.2009.01.099","article-title":"Effects of anode microporous layers made of carbon powder and nanotubes on water transport in direct methanol fuel cells","volume":"191","author":"Wu","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Power Sources"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"423","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpowsour.2009.03.032","article-title":"New anodic diffusive layer for passive micro-direct methanol fuel cell","volume":"192","author":"Yuan","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Power Sources"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"991","DOI":"10.1002\/er.2902","article-title":"Water management in a passive direct methanol fuel cell","volume":"37","author":"Oliveira","year":"2012","journal-title":"Int. J. Energy Res."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8690","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijhydene.2010.05.033","article-title":"Water management of the DMFC passively fed with a high-concentration methanol solution","volume":"35","author":"Li","year":"2010","journal-title":"Int. J. Hydrogen Energy"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4717","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijhydene.2011.04.112","article-title":"Design of a MEA with multi-layer electrodes for high concentration methanol DMFCs","volume":"37","author":"Park","year":"2012","journal-title":"Int. J. Hydrogen Energy"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8","DOI":"10.1016\/j.electacta.2014.03.183","article-title":"Effects of design parameters on the performance of passive direct methanol fuel cells fed with concentrated fuel","volume":"133","author":"Wu","year":"2014","journal-title":"Electrochim. Acta"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"946","DOI":"10.1016\/j.apenergy.2013.07.066","article-title":"High power direct methanol fuel cell with a porous carbon nanofiber anode layer","volume":"113","author":"Zainoodin","year":"2014","journal-title":"Appl. Energy"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"265","DOI":"10.1016\/j.electacta.2014.09.124","article-title":"Anodic diffusion layer with graphene-carbon nanotubes composite material for passive direct methanol fuel cell","volume":"147","author":"Yuan","year":"2014","journal-title":"Electrochim. Acta"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2326","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijhydene.2014.12.055","article-title":"Passive direct methanol fuel cell using woven carbon fiber fabric as mass transfer control medium","volume":"40","author":"Yuan","year":"2015","journal-title":"Int. J. Hydrogen Energy"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"290","DOI":"10.1016\/j.applthermaleng.2017.07.186","article-title":"Transport of highly concentrated fuel in direct methanol fuel cells","volume":"126","author":"Yan","year":"2017","journal-title":"Appl. Therm. Eng."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"A1902","DOI":"10.1149\/1.2266623","article-title":"Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Diagnostics","volume":"153","author":"Piela","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Electrochem. Soc."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pinto, A.M., Oliveira, V.B., and Falc\u00e3o, D.S. (2018). Direct Alcohol Fuel Cells for Portable Application, Elsevier.","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-12-811849-8.00001-2"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"306","DOI":"10.1016\/j.electacta.2019.01.131","article-title":"Effect of the current collector design on the performance of a passive direct methanol fuel cell","volume":"300","author":"Braz","year":"2019","journal-title":"Electrochim. Acta"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"19334","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijhydene.2019.03.162","article-title":"Experimental studies of the effect of cathode diffusion layer properties on a passive direct methanol fuel cell power output","volume":"44","author":"Braz","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int. J. Hydrogen Energy"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8973","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpowsour.2011.01.094","article-title":"One-dimensional and non-isothermal model for a passive DMFC","volume":"196","author":"Oliveira","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Power Sources"}],"container-title":["Energies"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1996-1073\/13\/19\/5198\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T10:16:45Z","timestamp":1760177805000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1996-1073\/13\/19\/5198"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,5]]},"references-count":21,"journal-issue":{"issue":"19","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,10]]}},"alternative-id":["en13195198"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/en13195198","relation":{},"ISSN":["1996-1073"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"1996-1073"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,5]]}}}