Introduction to other organic fuel-based fuel cells

Abstract Fuel cells are good alternative energy conversion systems that convert chemical energy directly into electrical energy to meet energy needs in the near future. Among the direct liquid fuel cells, direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs) are the widely studied organic-based fuel type; however, there are also other organic-based fuels that have a wide potential for use in fuel cells. Direct formic acid fuel cells (DFAFCs), direct dimethyl ether fuel cells (DDMEFCs), and direct formate fuel cells (DFFCs) are of interest to researchers because of their particular characteristics. These fuel cells have an important advantage in terms of storage and transportion compared to hydrogen-fed polymer electrolyte fuel cells (H2-PEMFC) similar to other DLFCs. While formic acid is preferred due to its high energy density, DME and formate attract attention with their low fuel crossover and high electrooxidation kinetics. This chapter gives an overview particularly of DFAFC, DFFC, and DDMEFC technology and stresses the barriers to commercialization of these types of fuel cells.