A self-breathing microdirect methanol fuel cell with a spoke cathode structure

摘要

We present a self-breathing microdirect methanol fuel cell with a spoke cathode structure to improve the cell performance. Compared with the conventional perforated cathode structure, the spoke one can enhance the oxygen mass transport efficiency and reduce water flooding in the cathode effectively. The cells were fabricated using microelectromechanical systems technology and have been characterized at room temperature, showing a maximum power density of 14.79 mW/cm~2 with 1 mol/L methanol fed with the flow rate of 0.1 mL/min. The testing results demonstrate that the spoke cathode structure can achieve a substantial increase in performance and stability of the cell.