Effect of Graphite Dopant on the Performance of Tubular Cathode for Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell

Abstract

By using the mesocarbon microbead (MCMB) and graphite as raw material, the tubular cathode green bodies of a direct ethanol fuel cell（DEFC）are shaped by the gelcasting technology and the tubular cathode is prepared by spraying the diffusion layer and the Pt/C catalyst layer after the sintering process. Through the tubular cathode physical performance and electrical property test, the advantages and disadvantages of cathode tube performance are studied at different graphite proportion. The results showed that with the increase of graphite, the ratio porosity of cathode tube support body increases at first and then decreases. However, the density has a converse trend. While the maximum porosity of the cathode tube is more than 0.5 and the corresponding density is 0.95g/cm3. Strength test showed that the cathode tube strength is better with the graphite ratio from 0 to 40 percent and can meet the actual needs. Electrical property tests showed that the cathode tube has higher current density with the graphite ratio of 40 and 50 percent.