History
In 1990 superacid specialist Dr. Surya Prakash, and Nobel laureate Dr. George A. Olah, both of the University of Southern California's Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, invented a fuel cell that would directly convert methanol to electricity. USC, in a collaborative effort with Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) proceeded to invent the direct oxidation of liquid hydrocarbons subsequently coined as DMFC, Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Technology. Others were involved in the invention, including California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and DTI Energy, Inc. Some advances in DMFC have been: bringing down the fuel crossover, miniaturizing the cell for consumer and military products, ceramic plates, carbon nanotubes, porous silicon layers and oxidation reduction.
Read more about this topic: Direct Methanol Fuel Cell
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