RAPID PROTOTYPING OF MICRO-DIRECT METHANOL FUEL CELL IN PDMS WITH MICROCHANNEL-INTEGRATED NAFION STRIP

摘要

We demonstrate a planar direct methanol fuel cell by integrating a 200 μm-wide Nafion strip in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) structure. The design is based on two 200 μm-wide parallel microfluidic channels, sandwiching the Nafion strip. We mechanically clamp the PDMS/Nafion assembly with a catalyst-covered glass chip and use 1 M CH_3OH/0.5 M H_2SO_4 as fuel in the anodic channel and O_2-saturated 0.5 M H_2SO_4 as oxidant solution in the cathodic channel. The fuel cell has a stable maximum power density of 0.52 mW/cm~2 at room temperature with fuel and oxidant flow rates in the 20-160 μL/min range.