Magnetic coupled passive direct methanol fuel cell: Promoted CO2 removal and enhanced catalyst utilization

A novel approach was proposed to promote CO2 removal from the anode catalyst layer of a liquid-fed passive direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) by introducing Lorentz force via magnetic field integrating. Due to the promoted removal of CO2 micro-bubble, the physical block of triple-phase boundary in the anode catalyst layer was reduced evidently. CO2 removal was promoted through introducing forced convection around the CO2 bubbles which can be proved by the mathematical calculations. Performance of the vapor-fed DMFC, in where no CO2 bubble existing in the anode, did not change by the magnetic field, also indicated that the enhanced performance of the liquid-fed magnetic-coupled DMFC was resulted from the promotional CO2 removal. A 12.5% enhancement in maximum power density was obtained for the liquid-fed DMFC by combining the magnetic field.