On-chip fuel cells for safe and high-power operation: investigation of alcohol fuel solutions

Tominaka, Satoshi; Nishizeko, Hiroshi; Ohta, Sousuke; Osaka, Tetsuya

doi:10.1039/b906216e

Cited by 29 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The performance of the RUFCs clearly achieved not only the highest power per weight, but also superior volumetric effectiveness for both the active and air-breathing flexible fuel cells. [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] Because of its extremely thin and highly flexible design, the RUFC can be easily deformed to any desired shape. True to its name, 'rollable,' the RUFC can be rolled up (Figure 5a) or distorted into an S-shape (Figure 5b) without significantly affecting its performance compared to the undistorted values (that is, maximum power densities of 54.2 and 48.1 mW cm − 2 for the rolled-up and S-shape, respectively, Figure 5c).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Miniaturized flexible fuel cells with high power density based on micro-electro-mechanical systems technology have been proposed, but they have some practical limitations such as difficulty in scale-up and high manufacturing cost. [17][18][19][20][21] Subsequent research has attempted to resolve such problems by using low-cost, facile processing techniques, including soft lithography employing commercially available polymers and electrically conductive materials. [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] Although these reported materials have shown potential as portable power sources, the technology in such reports was not sufficient to be adopted in current and future flexible electronics due to thick and heavy device construction, low power output, stacking issues or high catalyst loading.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A rollable ultra-light polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

et al. 2017

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We have developed a highly flexible, ultra-light and thin polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell that can be used as a portable power source for flexible electronics. To achieve such flexibility and ultra-lightness, we fabricated a thin flow-field plate using a thermal imprinting process and combined it with a laser-machined metal current collector. The air-breathing fuel cell, with a thickness of 0.992 mm and a weight of 2.23 g, demonstrated a total power of 508 mW and a performance degradation of o10% after severe bending fatigue (200 repeated bends). This high power per weight (0.228 W g − 1 ) and robust bending durability have never been observed before. The highly flexible architecture enabled the operation of the fuel cell in an S-shape or even in a rolled-up state without any significant performance loss. We have fabricated a cylindrical planar stack of 10 fuel cells and successfully carried out its outdoor operation to demonstrate its practical applications in various fields.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A rollable ultra-light polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

et al. 2017

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“…Using this concept on-chip, membraneless, air-breathing monolithic μDAFC has been constructed by Osaka and coworkers [105,106] which operate with methanol, ethanol and 2-propanol solution containing sulphuric acid or phosphate buffer. The cell consists of two cathodes at the top of the channel, and the liquid fuel is supplied by capillary force to the anode formed on the bottom of the channel, as indicated in Fig.…”

Section: State Of the Art Of Dmfc And Other Dafcsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction to Direct Alcohol Fuel Cells

Corti

González

2013

Direct Alcohol Fuel Cells

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Fuel cells are strongly linked to renewable energies, particularly to the so-called "Hydrogen Economy". For decades the development of fuel cells able to convert hydrogen and oxygen in electrical energy with water as unique byproduct has motivated huge activity in fundamental and applied electrochemistry.In this chapter we introduce the concept of methanol economy and discuss its status and perspectives. To be a reality the methanol and other alcohol economies depend on the development of alcohol feed fuel cells, whose components, operation modes and general performance are analyzed. World Energy Consumption: Current Status and TendenciesThe Stone Age did not end for lack of stone, and the oil age will end long before the world runs out of oil. Sheikh Ahmed Yamani (former Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister)The world energy consumption at the beginning of this decade was 12 billion tonnes of oil equivalent (toe), 1 and 87 % is generated by burning fossil fuels (oil 33.7 %, natural gas 23.6 % and coal 29.7 %) [1], which are non-renewable and increase the CO 2 content of the atmosphere, considered as the major man-made Around a half of the world energy demand corresponds to developed countries that originally signed the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), including United States, Canada, Japan and European Community. An important fraction of the other half is consumed by Russia and the fast-developing countries; particularly China and India, being coal, the worst fossil fuel in terms of CO 2 emissions, and the most vastly employed in these highly populated regions.An important fraction, close to 40 % of the fuel resources is used for power generation, while industry and transport demand around 30 % and 20 %, respectively [1,2]. Projections of energy demands for the next decades is a subject that concerns oil-related industries [2-4], governments and energy planners. British Petroleum projections till 2030 [2] are summarized in Fig. 1.1, where the growth in energy demand is basically modulated by the growth of the population and gross domestic product (GDP), mainly due to the contribution of the non-OECD countries. By 2030, 1.3 billion more people will need energy; and the world income is expected to roughly double the 2011 level.The raise of fossil fuel prices to record levels in real terms over the past decade inevitably lead to supply responses, by development and deployment of new technologies across a range of energy sources. Thus, the "shale revolution", first for gas and then for oil, will allow account for almost a fifth of the increase in global energy supply to 2030 [2]. Simultaneously, high prices for fossil fuels will also support the expansion of biomass renewable energy supply, accounting for 17 % of the increase in global energy supply by 2030. Hydro and nuclear together will

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“…Such a configuration may facilitate delivery of reactants to the electrodes with less required power. Tominaka et al [8][9][10] introduced a one-compartment membraneless microfuel cell with a selective electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction in an air-breathing cathode. Each fuel cell was able to use methanol, ethanol or 2propanol containing a supporting electrolyte in a reservoir fabricated in silicon or bendable polymeric substrates.…”

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confidence: 99%