Microfabricated microfluidic fuel cells

作者：Kamitani Ai; Morishita Satoshi; Kotaki Hiroshi; Arscott Steve^*

来源：Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical , 2011, 154(2): 174-180.

DOI：10.1016/j.snb.2009.11.014

• Microfuel cells
• Energy
• Microsystems
• Microfluidics
• MEMS
• Silicon
• Fibrous materials

We demonstrate high performance microfuel cells (mu FC) operating at room temperature. The smallest mu FC has a reaction surface of 0.11 cm(2) and has an output power density equal to 22.9 mW cm(-2). Methanol and air are supplied using microchannels etched into silicon wafers using microfabrication techniques which can accurately determine the mu FC surface and the microchannel dimensions. The insertion of a novel hydrophilic fibrous layer into the anode diffusion layer stack produces 9.25 mW cm(-2) for an input fuel flow rate of 550 nL min(-1). The benefits of size-scaling and architecture optimization in mu FC are demonstrated. Our observations and conclusions are by no means unique to methanol mu FC but could be applied to other microfluidic liquid fuel mu FC based on, e.g. microbial fuel cells. bio-ethanol and glucose solution.

• 出版日期2011-6-20