Abstract
The development of flexible fuel cells has been hindered by the rigid components and stringent requirements for pressure encapsulation and fuel sealing. Here we report an adaptive internal pressure encapsulation strategy that leverages the dynamic swelling behaviour of woven cotton fibres enclosed in a gel matrix in methanol. This strategy achieves simultaneous interfacial self-reinforcement and pressure modulation, enabling the fabrication of fibre-shaped direct methanol fuel cells. These flexible fuel cells operate across a broad temperature range, from –22 °C to 70 °C, showcasing cuttability, water resistance and fast refuelling capabilities, with full refuelling being achieved within 1 min. Furthermore, the fuel cells maintain consistent discharge performance, even after enduring 2,000 continuous flexing cycles. With an energy density of 161.36 Wh kg−1, these fibre-shaped direct methanol fuel cells surpass the energy densities of typical fibre-based power systems. This technology mitigates many of the technical challenges related to the lightweight and flexible application of fuel cells or fuel cell stacks for powering high-energy flexible devices.
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The data that support the findings of this study are available within the article and its Supplementary Information and can be obtained from the corresponding authors upon request. Source data are provided with this paper.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2021YFB4001200, F.Y.), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52333002, F.Y.), the Jiangsu Province Science Foundation for Carbon Emissions Peak and Carbon Neutrality Science and Technology Innovation (BK20220007, F.Y.), Suzhou Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutral Project (ST202301, F.Y.), Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, and by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions. We gratefully acknowledge Shenzhen Huasuan Technology for the calculations.
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Y.Y., Z.S., M.Z. and F.Y. designed and analysed the feasibility of a fibre-shaped fuel cell with methanol-swellable Yarn@gels. Y.Y., Z.L., X.Z., P.F. and H.Z. prepared the Yarn@gels, as well as assembling and optimizing the cell structure. W.L., J.Z., Q.Z., Q.Y., T.Z., M.Y. and S.Z. devised the testing methodologies. Y.Y. and F.Y. wrote the paper. All authors contributed to the analysis and discussion of the data.
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Nature Materials thanks Ahmad Amiri, Xiaochun Zhou and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.
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Supplementary information
Supplementary Information (download PDF )
Supplementary Figs. 1–47, Tables 1 and 2 and Discussion.
Supplementary Video 1 (download MP4 )
Power supply performance of FDMFCs during wooden stick penetration tests, whereas their anti-splash characteristics are validated through water spray experiments.
Supplementary Video 2 (download MP4 )
Power supply system of a vehicle integrated with an FDMFC stack, which enables the vehicle to start smoothly.
Source data
Source Data Fig. 2e–j (download XLSX )
Statistical source data.
Source Data Fig. 2b–d (download PDF )
Unprocessed Yarn@gel and FDMFC.
Source Data Fig. 3g,i–k (download XLSX )
Statistical source data.
Source Data Fig. 3b,c,e,f (download PDF )
Unprocessed numerical simulation snapshots.
Source Data Fig. 4a–c,f (download XLSX )
Statistical source data.
Source Data Fig. 4d,e (download PDF )
Unprocessed FDMFC stack.
Source Data Fig. 5c,d (download XLSX )
Statistical source data.
Source Data Fig. 5a,b,e (download PDF )
Unprocessed FDMFC stack.
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Yuan, Y., Liu, Z., Zou, X. et al. Flexible fibre-shaped fuel cells with gel-mediated internal pressure encapsulation. Nat. Mater. 24, 1608–1615 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-025-02319-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-025-02319-2
