A PEM Fuel Cell Based on Electrocatalyst and Membrane Materials Modified by PAMAM Dendrimers

摘要

A prototype fuel cell has been constructed using dendrimer-modified electrodes and membrane. Platinum nanoparticles encapsulated in hydroxyl-terminated PAMAM dendrimers (G4OHPt) supported on a conducting carbon-fiber-paper substrate were used as the electrocatalytic material for the electrodes. A proton-exchange membrane was prepared by binding duplex amine-carboxylate dendrimers to a cellulose-acetate support. With these dendrimer-based materials, a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell was assembled and the performance compared with cells prepared with Nafion-based membranes. The voltage-current profiles and the power-density curves from the new cell provide encouragement to continue work with these dendrimer-modified materials.