A self-pumping microfluidic fuel cell powered by formate with Pd coated carbon cloth electrodes

摘要

A self-pumping membraneless microfluidic fuel cell (MMFC) with carbon cloth electrodes is reported in this work. The prepared F-shaped carbon cloth electrode serves as microchannel and the electrode as well. The Na2SO4-imbibed polyacrylamide (PAM) gel is synthesized with the conductivity of 0.047 S cm(-1) and positioned between the two electrodes, which is functioned as the ion-transport medium. Benefiting from the porosity and hydrophilicity of the carbon cloth electrode, the fuel and oxidant flow is driven by the capillary force with the assistance of absorbent pad. The external pumps are not needed for the proposed fuel cell. The peak power density of 8.9 mW cm(-2) is yielded when using 2 M HCOONa as fuel, and the maximum power density of 3.2 mW cm(-2) can be achieved even the absorbent pad is filled up with the electrolyte. As a demonstration, two fuel cells are connected in series to power a calculator and a timer for more than 1 h. It shows a fruitful future research as micro power supply for powering portable electronics.