Developing and performance measurements for a novel miniaturized electrochemical methanol sensor

A novel electrochemical methanol sensor was to be coupled with the direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) to real-time monitor the used concentration of methanol solution. The sensor effectively operates on a basis of measuring the current output produced by methanol diffusion through the Nafion 115 membrane. The sensor displays a robust sensitivity to the widely used methanol concentration (from 0 to 5 M) and operating temperature (from 30 to 60 °C), as proved by the steady-state polarization measurements. Particularly, linear correlation was presented between the output current of the senor and the methanol concentration from 0 to 2 M. The stability test shows that the sensor has an average degradation rate as low as 1.22 mA cm−2 h−1. Therefore, the as-fabricated sensor shows a promising application in DMFCs in terms of its high sensitivity, high stability and the merits of simple processing, fabrication and low cost.

► A novel miniaturized electrochemical methanol sensor. ► High sensitivity. ► High stability. ► Simple processing and fabrication.