A Silicon Micro Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Demonstrator using Microfabrication Techniques

摘要

This paper presents the design, microfabrication and characterizations of a silicon based, single-cell μDMFC demonstrator for micro/portable electrical power applications. The flow field plates of the fuel cell were made on 2"silicon wafers utilizing wet-etching and sputtering techniques. The fuel cell was assembled in an epoxy-based packaging process. Results show that a lower internal ohmic resistance of the fuel cell can be achieved with a thicker current collecting layer (CCL). Influence of the operating conditions on the μDMFC performance was also investigated. It was found that 2M methanol can yield a better fuel cell performance because it provided a better compromise between the methanol crossover and mass transportation during operation. On the other hand, a 4-time increase of the peak power density of the fuel cell was achieved by increasing the methanol temperature from 20°C to 80°C.