代替甲醇作为直接燃料电池燃料的有机物研究进展

Development of Organic Compounds in Replacement of Methanol as Direct Fuel Cell

发展直接甲醇燃料电池,要面对不少困难,所以有必要寻找其他有机物代替甲醇作为直接醇类燃料电池的燃料.综述了可代替甲醇作为直接醇类燃料电池燃料的有机物,主要有乙醇和多羟基醇.其中乙醇是人们最感兴趣的有机物,是可再生、环保型能源.乙二醇是多羟基醇类中最简单的醇,具有较高的化学能/电能转换率.

Much effort is being devoted to the development of a direct methanol fuel cell （DMFC）. However, it is well known that methanol is volatile and relatively toxic and it has not been considered as a favorable and friendly fuel. Therefore, other organic compounds have been taken into consideration as alternative fuels. As one of the alternative fuels, ethanol has no toxicity compared to methanol and has more energy density against methanol （8.01 kWh/kg versus 6.09 kWh/kg）. Moreover, as a green fuel, ethanol can be easily produced in great quantity by fermentation of sugar-containing raw materials. Polyhydric alcohols have higher boiling points and are much less volatile. They are oxidizable, and furthermore theoretical energy than that of methanol. Ethylene glycol is the simplest polyhydric alcohol and an interesting candidate for direct conversion into electrical energy in direct fuel cell.