This paper presents the fabrication and characterization of a ‘T’-shaped methanol-based fuel cell supported on paper. Methanol is used as the fuel and potassium permanganate is used as the oxidant. A polyacrylamide based gel, impregnated with H2SO4 limits the fuel and oxidant cross over and serves as the membrane/electrolyte to facilitate the ion transport between anode and cathode. Composite of nitrogen doped graphene oxide and NiCo2O4 micro-spheres, having flower-like structure, is used as the catalyst on both the electrodes to improve the cell performance. The use of catalyst has led to 5 times increase in the peak power density. The catalysts are characterized using XRD, SEM, EDX and TEM. A stack of two paper cells could illuminate an LED for 30 minutes. A simple mathematical model based on Butler-Volmer kinetics is used to predict the cell performance and predictions are compared with experimental measurements.
Published in: "Journal of the Electrochemical Society".