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Nafion based proton exchange membrane (PEM) has long been used as conventional PEM in direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) industry. However, the high cost of Nafion membrane and other drawbacks like high methanol crossover hinder the advancement of this industry. This study aims to develop a low cost membrane using sulfonated poly ether ether ketone (SPEEK) polymer. Silica and silicotungstic acid (SiWA) were incorporated into the membrane matrix using solution casting method. The optimum loading of the additives was tuned and it is discovered that the SPEEK membrane containing 10 wt% of silica and 5 wt% of SiWA has the best performance due to its high proton conductivity and moderately low methanol permeability. The performance of the membrane can further be enhanced by adding (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) and carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) as coupling agents. Inclusion of APTES and CDI in SPEEK could not only improve the compatibility between organic SPEEK and inorganic additives, but also improve the homogeneity and dispersity of the additives. As a result, the resultant membrane with a better dimensional stability achieves high selectivity (10.60 × 104 S.s/cm3) up to 6.5 times more than pristine SPEEK membrane and 1.3 times higher than the commercial Nafion 117 membrane. • SPEEK/SiO 2 -SiWA was produced with APTES as coupling agent and CDI as promoter. • SPEEK1-AC achieved selectivity of 6.5 times higher than pristine SPEEK. • Silica-supported SiWA increased the proton conductivity of SPEEK membrane. • Improvement in homogeneity between organic SPEEK and inorganic additives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nafion, a perfluorosulfonic acid polymer, has been the standard membrane material for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) due to its proton-carrying capabilities, despite its shortcomings as a methanol barrier. To attain self-healing and methanol-blocking properties, the incorporation of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) polymer into Nafion was pursued. However, this strategy resulted in low proton conductivity. Thus, acid functional groups were added to a secondary modifier to boost proton conductivity. In this work, sulfonated graphene oxide (SGO) was assembled with Nafion and PVA through a simple freezing-thawing method to demonstrate a self-healable proton exchange membrane (PEM) without compromising the proton conductivity of Nafion. The synergistic effect of SGO in methanol-blocking and proton transport successfully strode over recast Nafion by hampering 33.2 % of methanol permeation and increasing 19.5 % of proton conductivity. As a result, the selectivity of the best hybrid PEM (N/PVA/SGO1.0) was increased by 1.8 times in comparison to recast Nafion. A single cell passive DMFC made using the novel hybrid membrane exhibited a power density of 6.07 mW cm−2 at a current density of 26.48 mA cm−2, and an open circuit voltage of 0.55 V at room temperature using 4 M methanol. This performance was essentially higher than that achieved by recast Nafion and commercial Nafion 117. The N/PVA/SGO1.0 hybrid membrane also showed remarkable self-healing properties, with 89 % recovery of methanol blocking function through reversible hydrogen bonding, illustrating its tremendous sustainable potential for use in DMFCs. [Display omitted] • Freeze-thaw process induces reversible physical crosslinking in N/PVA/SGO. • N/PVA/SGO achieves 28 % better DMFC performance than N117. • N/PVA/SGO demonstrates multiple times of self-healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Concentrated photovoltaic cell (CPV) had gained much attention recently due to high efficiency at a competitive cost. However, efficiency of CPV is inversely proportional to the temperature. Hence, it is important to reduce the maximum temperature and variation of temperature across the CPV. Metal foam with its high specific surface area, thermal conductivity and tortuous flow path to promote mixing is an ideal candidate for thermal management for CPV. However, the thermal performance of the metal foam may drop from upstream to downstream and lead to poor cooling performance near the outlet. In this study, functionally graded metal foam is attached on the CPV to extract the heat generated. Functionally graded aluminum foam with gradual variation porosity are modelled to investigate the thermal performance and flow field using computational thermal fluid dynamics analysis. Heat transfer correlation, permeability and resistance loss coefficient are extracted from the literature and used in the simulation. The results showed that functionally graded metal foam with gradual reducing porosity offered a better temperature uniformity for the CPV. Therefore, this approach will further extend the cycle life as well as improve the overall efficiency of the CPV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Fuel cells and solar energy are promising candidates for electricity generation. It is forecast that fuel cells and solar power systems will play an important role in reducing the greenhouse gas footprint and replacing fossil fuels. Therefore, the limitations of fuel cells and solar power systems, such as low efficiency, high cost, and low reliability, must be addressed appropriately to enable their full potentials. Metal foam is a new class of material that has gained immense attention due to its excellent properties suitable for a wide range of applications. Its unique characteristics distinguish it from typical solid metals. The properties of metal foam can be modified during the fabrication stage by manipulating its physical structure. The goal of this paper is to review the application of metal foam in fuel cells and solar power systems. Besides, the performance of metal foam in fuel cells and solar systems is also discussed. Metal foam has been applied to the electrodes, gas diffusion layer and flow field of fuel cells to enhance performance, especially in regard to current density and flow distribution. Furthermore, metal foam is a heat exchanger for the solar energy harvesting system to improve its efficiency. Superior performances in experimental testing allows the possibility of commercialization of metal foam products in the renewable energy field. Highlights • This article reviews the past research on metal foam in fuel cell and solar power systems. • Metal foam applications on bipolar plates, electrodes and the gas diffusion layer in a fuel cell. • Metal foam as a thermal management system in solar power systems. • Barriers and future perspectives of metal foam applications in fuel cells and solar power systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal management system is crucial for a Lithium-ion battery pack as cycle life, driving range of electric vehicle, usable capacity and safety are heavily dependent on the operating temperature. Optimum operating temperature of Lithium-ion battery pack is about 25–40 °C. Power availability of the battery pack may differ according to the operating temperature. Although air cooling is the simplest and cheapest cooling solution, the cooling capacity is still limited by the low specific heat capacity. This will cause large variation of temperature of cells across the battery pack. In this study, mist cooling is proposed for battery pack thermal management system. Experiments and numerical simulations are conducted to investigate the thermal performance of conventional dry air cooling and mist cooling. Simulation results are then validated with the experimental data. The simulation results show that mist cooling can offer lower and more uniform temperature distribution compared to dry air cooling. Mist cooling with mass flow rate of 5 gs −1 and 3% mist loading fraction is sufficient to ensure the surface temperature of the battery module maintained to below 40 °C. Therefore, mist cooling is a potential solution for the thermal management system of Lithium-ion battery pack. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scale-down trend increases the chips’ density and the high power handling capability generates unnecessary heat which can disrupt the reliability of the electronic devices. Therefore, various types of cooling solution have been proposed to enhance heat dissipation from the electronic devices. One of the solution is using inexpensive straight-channel heat sink. However, the presence of large temperature gradient between the upstream and downstream in the straight-channel can shorten the life span of the device and subsequently reduce the reliability. In this study, a novel segmented micro-channel is introduced to improve the thermal performance of the straight-channel heat sink. Computational fluid dynamic analysis are performed to investigate the performance of the micro-channel heat sink. The bottom of the heat sink is subjected to a constant heat flux condition and water is used as a coolant. Following that, Taguchi-grey method is applied to optimize the design of the segmented micro-channel. The effect of fin width, fin length, fin transverse distance, number of segments, channel width and mass flow rate on the specific performance, variation of temperature and pressure drop are investigated. The results indicate that a three segments of segmented micro-channel, fin width-1 mm, fin length-2 mm, fin transverse distance-5 mm and channel width-1 mm have successfully enhance the heat transfer performance with minimum pressure drop. It is also found that the optimized micro-channel heat sink is able to cool the chip with heat flux of 800 W to 56.6 °C and pumping power of 0.13 W using 15 gs −1 of water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]