Microfluidic fuel cell based on laminar flow

Choban, Eric R.; Markoski, Larry J.; Wiȩckowski, Andrzej; Kenis, Paul J. A.

doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2003.11.052

Cited by 509 publications

(363 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Recently, a new kind of membrane-less fuel cell has been introduced [32], [33]. It exploits the laminar characteristics of microchannel flows to keep the two reactants separated, avoiding in this way the use of a membrane.…”

Section: Fuel Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy Harvesting and Remote Powering for Implantable Biosensors

2011

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Abstract-This paper reviews some popular techniques to harvest energy for implantable biosensors. For each technique, the advantages and drawbacks are discussed. Emphasis is placed on the inductive links that are able to deliver power wirelessly through the biological tissues and enable bidirectional data communication with the implanted sensors. Finally, high-frequency inductive links are described, focusing also on the power absorbed by the tissues.Index Terms-Energy harvesting, implantable biosensors, inductive powering, remote powering.

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Section: Fuel Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy Harvesting and Remote Powering for Implantable Biosensors

2011

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“…This is by no means the lower limit for MFC as our design has also been used with a 0.4 cm 2 active area and MFC structures are in the range of tens of micrometers enabling further decrease in the active area (flow field). The smallest MFCs fabricated are 0.1 cm 2 in size (corresponding to 3 x 3 mm square) [260]. MFCs also enable the quick and cheap fabrications of different flow field models that may be required in fuel cell testing.…”

Section: Micro Fuel Cells As a Catalyst Thrift Toolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silicon nanograss as micro fuel cell gas diffusion layer

et al. 2010

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Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) produce electrical energy directly from chemical energy. They are a promising candidate for power sources of portable devices due to the high energy density of methanol and the quick recharging procedure by fuel insertion. However, the problem areas of the DMFC are the slow electro-oxidation of methanol and the permeated methanol reacting at the cathode. New catalysts are constantly searched but they are often tested only for catalytic activity and the DMFC testing is omitted even though the catalyst layer (CL) structure has a large impact on the performance. Miniaturization of the system is also necessary for portable applications. Silicon etching can be used to fabricate small structures for fuel cells replacing or enhancing the functions of laboratory-scale components.In the first part of this thesis, new catalysts for the DMFC are studied with the emphasis on the CL structure. Different carbon supports for the anode were studied: standard carbon black and alternative few-walled carbon nanotubes (FWCNT) and graphitized carbon nanofiber (GNF). The alternative supports showed better DMFC performance but their stability was lower than with carbon black. However, the CL formed with GNF showed a very porous structure enhancing the mass transfer, so that higher binder content could be used improving the stability to the level of carbon black and the performance by 30%. The FWCNTs were also investigated as a platform for enzymatic methanol oxidation by studying the electrochemical properties of an immobilized cofactor pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ). A large amount of PQQ was adsorbed having a strong redox response and good stability in a wide pH window. For the cathode, a methanol-tolerant, Pt-free nitrogen-doped FWCNTs were tested in an alkaline DMFC as such testing is not often made. Its performance was remarkably 4 times better than with Pt when synthetic air was used as the oxidant.In the second part of thesis, an integrated gas diffusion layer (GDL) consisting of Si nanoneedles (nanograss) was tested in a micro fuel cell (MFC). The layer functioned properly at low current densities. For high power applications, a standard carbon cloth GDL was tested with the nanograss as a contact surface reducing the resistance between the GDL and the flow field. The use of the nanograss improved the MFC performance and stability. Finally, the MFCs were used as a catalyst testing platform and the results were compared with a similar test in a laboratory-scale DMFC. The results varied showing that the DMFC components also have a large impact on catalyst testing.Keywords direct methanol fuel cell, carbon nanomaterials, micro fuel cells, catalyst layer Tiivistelmä Suorametanolipolttokennot (SMPK) tuottavat sähköenergiaa suoraan kemiallisesta energiasta. Ne ovat lupaava vaihtoehto kannettavien laitteiden voimanlähteeksi, koska metanolilla on korkea energiatiheys ja lataaminen tapahtuu nopeasti polttoainelisäyksellä. SMPK:lla on kuitenkin rajoitteina metanolin hidas hapetusreaktio ja katodi...

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“…Whalen et al [4] developed a micro heat engine in which a piezoelectric membrane extracts power from two-phase working fluids. Choban et al [5] presented a microfluidic fuel cell that utilizes the occurrence of microscale multistream laminar flow to keep the fuel and oxidant streams separated but in diffusional contact. On the other hand, novel methods to convert energy using microscale fabrication include generation of streaming potential through a nanochannel and biologically inspired methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Power Generation from Concentration Gradient by Reverse Electrodialysis in Dense Silica Membranes for Microfluidic and Nanofluidic Systems

Lee

Kim

2016

Energies

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Abstract:In this study, we investigate power generation by reverse electrodialysis in a dense silica membrane that is between two NaCl solutions with various combinations of concentrations. Each silica membrane is fabricated by depositing a silica layer on a porous alumina substrate via chemical vapor deposition. The measured potential-current (V-I) characteristics of the silica membrane are used to obtain the transference number, diffusion potential, and electrical resistance. We develop empirical correlations for the transference number and the area-specific resistance, and present the results of power generation by reverse electrodialysis using the fabricated silica membranes. The highest measured power density is 0.98 mW/m 2 . In addition, we develop a contour map of the power density as a function of NaCl concentrations on the basis of the empirical correlations. The contour map shows that a power output density of 1.2 mW/m 2 is achievable with the use of silica membranes and is sufficient to drive nanofluidic and microfluidic systems. The dense silica membrane has the potential for use in micro power generators in nanofluidic and microfluidic systems.

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Microfluidic fuel cell based on laminar flow

Cited by 509 publications

References 10 publications

Energy Harvesting and Remote Powering for Implantable Biosensors

Energy Harvesting and Remote Powering for Implantable Biosensors

Silicon nanograss as micro fuel cell gas diffusion layer

Power Generation from Concentration Gradient by Reverse Electrodialysis in Dense Silica Membranes for Microfluidic and Nanofluidic Systems

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