Development and characteristics of a membraneless microfluidic fuel cell array
Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews (RGC: 21, 22, 62) › 21_Publication in refereed journal › peer-review
Author(s)
Related Research Unit(s)
Detail(s)
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 467-477 |
Journal / Publication | Electrochimica Acta |
Volume | 135 |
Publication status | Published - 20 Jul 2014 |
Link(s)
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 journal › peer-review