Development and characteristics of a membraneless microfluidic fuel cell array

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews (RGC: 21, 22, 62)21_Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

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Author(s)

  • Huizhi Wang
  • Shunjie Gu
  • Dennis Y.C. Leung
  • Hong Xu
  • Li Zhang
  • Jin Xuan

Detail(s)

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)467-477
Journal / PublicationElectrochimica Acta
Volume135
Publication statusPublished - 20 Jul 2014

Abstract

Membraneless microfluidic fuel cells (M2FCs) are promising portable power sources, but they suffer from limited scalability. This paper presents a scaling-out strategy for general M2FC applications with their characteristics studied by both experiments and mathematical modeling. The present strategy addresses the issues of flow distribution non-uniformity and shunt current losses by integrating a well-designed fluid circuit. With the present strategy, parallel and series connections of four cells in an array results in a scaling-out efficiency of 93% and 82%, respectively. The effects of different parameters on the array performance as well as further device scalability are also investigated in this paper. Preferable conditions for the array operation include a high branch ionic resistance, small unit cell difference and high unit-cell performance, which can be achieved by appropriately designing the branch geometry, employing high-precision fabrication/assembly techniques and improving the single-cell materials/chemistries. It is expected that the present array can be incremented to 50 cells or above in series with over 75% efficiency as long as there is sufficiently high branch resistance or cell performance. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

Research Area(s)

  • Formic acid, Hydrogen peroxide, Membraneless fuel cell, Microfluidics, Scale out, Shunt current analysis

Citation Format(s)

Development and characteristics of a membraneless microfluidic fuel cell array. / Wang, Huizhi; Gu, Shunjie; Leung, Dennis Y.C. et al.

In: Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 135, 20.07.2014, p. 467-477.

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews (RGC: 21, 22, 62)21_Publication in refereed journalpeer-review