Abstract:

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.

Key words: photo-assisted direct methanol fuel cells, methanol oxidation, photochemistry, electrochemistry, catalyst

摘要：

直接甲醇燃料电池（DMFCs）因其能够在较低工作温度下提供清洁、可持续能源方面的潜力而备受关注，但阳极缓慢的甲醇氧化反应（MOR）限制了其商业化应用。光辅助直接甲醇燃料电池（PMFCs）能利用光电耦合机制加速MOR过程，实现甲醇的化学能高效转化为电能，为开发高效、可持续的能源转换系统带来了巨大希望。本文首先简要回顾了PMFCs的背景、意义和在能源研究中的价值。从PMFCs的基本结构组成和酸碱介质下甲醇光电催化氧化的基本路径出发，总结了PMFCs阳极光电催化剂的研究进展。重点针对不同类型的PMFCs阳极光电催化剂，讨论光辅助下的MOR增强机制，如催化剂的尺寸效应、晶面效应、吸光性能、导电性以及表面等离激元共振（SPR）效应等方面的影响。PMFCs未来需要重点关注的研究方向是深入理解PMFCs的光电耦合机制和PMFCs阳极催化剂的构效关系，以及解决实际二电极系统下PMFCs光阳极的设计问题。

关键词: 光辅助直接甲醇燃料电池, 甲醇氧化, 光化学, 电化学, 催化剂