Method for Independent Evaluation of Working/Counter Electrode Performance in Microfluidic Electrochemical Systems: Analysis of a Membraneless Micro Fuel Cell

摘要

In fuel cells power is generated by the reaction of a fuel such as methanol at one electrode, the anode, and an oxidant such as oxygen at the other electrode, the cathode. These catalyst-covered anode and cathode electrodes are highly polarizable and thus they each adopt a certain potential in the presence of fuel and oxidant respectively. This high polarizability causes the potential of neither electrode to be well defined on an absolute potential scale. The only potential that can be measured is the difference between the anode and the cathode and its change upon the application of a load. This potential, however, does not provide valuable thermodynamic or kinetic information because of the lack of reference to a thermodynamically relevant, absolute potential scale.