Performance analysis of non-platinum group metal catalysts for direct methanol fuel cell cathodes

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are an attractive alternative to batteries for portable applications and auxiliary power units mainly due to the high energy density of methanol and the high energy efficiency that characterize low temperature fuel cells. One of the main drawbacks of DMFCs based on acidic polymer electrolyte is the need of platinum group metals to obtain practical performances at low temperature. One attractive idea is to substitute the cathodic Pt/C catalyst by highly performing non-platinum group metal catalysts based on M-N-C (where M=transition metal) structures. In the present work, we have carried out a performance analysis of Fe-N-C-based catalysts in a single DMFC, demonstrating good perspectives for their application in cost-effective DMFCs based on acidic polymer electrolytes.