Advances in anode catalysts for photo-assisted direct methanol fuel cells
Direct methanol fuel cells(DMFCs)have gained attention because of their potential to provide clean,sustainable energy at lower temperatures.However,the slow methanol oxidation reaction(MOR)at anode has limited their commercial use.In contrast,photo-assisted direct methanol fuel cells(PMFCs)can accelerate the MOR process by a photoelectric coupling mechanism,which efficiently converts methanol's chemical energy into electricity,and thus show great promise for developing efficient and sustainable energy conversion systems.This paper begins with a brief review of the background,significance,and value of PMFCs in energy research.It then summarizes the research progress of anode photocatalysts for PMFCs,starting from the basic structure and pathway of methanol photo electrocatalytic oxidation under an acid-base medium.According to different types of anodic photocatalysts for PMFCs,we discuss the mechanisms that may intensify the photo-assisted MOR,such as the catalyst size effect,crystal surface effect,light absorption property,electrical conductivity,and surface plasmon resonance(SPR).The future research direction for PMFCs should focus on understanding the mechanism of photoelectric coupling and the constitutive relationship of anodic catalysts in-depth.Additionally,it is crucial to address the design problems of the PMFCs photo-anode under the actual two-electrode system.
photo-assisted direct methanol fuel cellsmethanol oxidationphotochemistryelectrochemistrycatalyst