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In this research, the performance studies of a single cell Direct Methanol Fuel Cell with three different mass compositions (20%, 40%, and 60%) of platinum at anode infused in NiTiO3/C and multiple cathode flow fields, such as serpentine, parallel, and sinuous, with 25 cm2 active area. 40% platinum mass composition has been reported with a maximum power density of 24.42 mW/cm2, which is 26.8% and 10.4% higher than the performance observed in 20% and 60% platinum mass composition, respectively, on serpentine flow field. Among the various cathode flow fields, sinuous flow field provided the maximum power density of 28.69 mW/cm2, which is 17.48% and 53.83% higher in performance than that of serpentine and parallel flow fields, respectively. The best-performing catalyst mass composition and flow field, viz., 40% mass composition and sinuous flow field are scaled up to a 100 cm2 active area, and the results showed 16% lower performance compared to a 25 cm2 active area. A three-cell stack is fabricated with the best performing combination with the 100 cm2 active area that delivered a peak power output of 5.8 W, which resulted in 19.4% lower performance than 100 cm2. The stack was tested for stability for 48 h at constant voltage mode and was found that 0.002 W deviation for the entire period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Anode electrocatalysts Pt-NiTiO 3 /C has been synthesized using wet chemical method. • Performance evaluation 5 cm2 DMFC in par with commercial Pt/C and PtRu/C. • An optimum Nafion concentration of 0.5 mg/cm2 gave the highest performance. • Sinuous flow field shows a higher stability than traditional serpentine design. Efficiency of a Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) not just merely depends on the catalyst, but also on the flow channels, physical/electrochemical kinetics, Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) preparation and other operating parameters. This article is focused on the influence of novel flow field design and the effect of Nafion loading during MEA preparation on the performance of DMFC. A novel Pt/NiTiO 3 was used as the anode electrocatalyst in the DMFC. The results show a 27.8% & 5.1% increment in cell performance due to changes in Nafion loading and flow field designs, respectively. A Nafion loading of 0.5 mg/cm2 and the sinuous flow field gave the highest performance. Thus, Pt-NiTiO 3 /C performed to be an encouraging anode catalyst with the new sinuous flow field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]