Patent ID: 7811714

Claim:
A direct methanol fuel cell comprising: stacked layers of a. an anode, the anode comprising a mixed-electronic-proton conducting anode material exposed to a hydrogen-containing fuel source the anode comprising Pd or a Pd alloy; b. a nonporous proton conducting solid Y-doped BaZrO3 electrolyte, wherein the Y-doped BaZrO3 electrolyte provides oxygen vacancies disposed to transport protons through the crystal lattice of the electrolyte; and c. a cathode exposed to an oxygen-containing source, wherein the anode surface faces away from the electrolyte and the cathode surface faces away from the electrolyte and each surface of the electrolyte comprises Pt islands, wherein said Pt islands are spaced apart from one another, wherein each of the Pt island has a size in a range of 1 to 50 nm thick.