Study on highly efficient direct methanol fuel cells for portable applications

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are theoretically suitable as power sources for portable applications such as notebook computers and mobile phones. However they work best at high temperature, which requires energy to rise the cell temperature. In this paper, we propose a new spiral-type DMFC that needs no heat sources. By rolling the electrode and membrane in many times, a spiral-type DMFC does not emit heat and can hold a high temperature. It should have a higher power density and smaller volume than conventional ones.