Dual-electrolyte aluminum/air microfluidic fuel cell with electrolyte-recirculation

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

18 Scopus Citations
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Author(s)

  • Lei Wang
  • Rui Cheng
  • Wentao Wang
  • Guandong Yang
  • Fude Liu

Related Research Unit(s)

Detail(s)

Original languageEnglish
Article number138584
Journal / PublicationElectrochimica Acta
Volume388
Online published12 May 2021
Publication statusPublished - 20 Aug 2021

Abstract

Aluminum/air microfluidic fuel cell (MFC) combines the advantages of co-laminar MFC and aluminum/air batteries with high energy density, low cost, membraneless and miniaturized design, which is a promising device to power the numerous nodes in the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystems. Here, we propose a recirculating dual-electrolyte aluminum/air MFC with an alkaline anolyte and an acid catholyte. The cell exhibits an outstanding performance with an open-circuit voltage of 2.2 V and a short-current density of 1 A cm−2, benefiting from the dual-electrolyte design. In order to prevent the naturalization reaction between the electrolytes and improve the utilization rate, a regular hierarchical porous carbon paper is applied as the separator, which minimizes the mixing of electrolytes and facilitates the recirculation. This work provides an alternative route for cost-effective and high-performance aluminum/Air MFCs toward real applications.

Research Area(s)

  • Al/air cell, Dual electrolyte, Electrolyte recirculation, High voltage, Microfluidic fuel cell

Citation Format(s)

Dual-electrolyte aluminum/air microfluidic fuel cell with electrolyte-recirculation. / Wang, Lei; Cheng, Rui; Wang, Wentao et al.
In: Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 388, 138584, 20.08.2021.

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review