Title :
A Passive Vapor-Feed Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Based on a Composite Pervaporation Membrane
Author :
Zonglin Wu ; Xiaohong Wang ; Litian Liu
Author_Institution :
Inst. of Microelectron., Tsinghua Univ., Beijing, China
Abstract :
A passive micro direct methanol fuel cell (μDMFC) by using composite pervaporation membrane for vapor fuel supply without any extra power is presented. A simple and power free vaporizer, which consists of a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) active layer and a porous silicon support layer, is integrated with a μDMFC, converting the methanol from liquid phase to vapor phase. The novel anode vaporizer generates methanol vapor, which diffuses to and reacts with catalyst directly. The composite membranes with different parameters are prepared and tested to optimize the performance of the membrane vaporizer. The developed prototype exhibits a peak power density of 18.2 mW/cm2 and a maximum fuel efficiency of 78.4% at room temperature. It is believed that the vapor-feed μDMFC will be more applicable for microsystems.
Keywords :
catalysts; direct methanol fuel cells; evaporation; membranes; polymer blends; separation; PDMS active layer; anode vaporizer; catalyst; composite pervaporation membrane; efficiency 78.4 percent; methanol vapor; passive micro direct methanol fuel cell; polydimethylsiloxane active layer; porous silicon support layer; vapor fuel supply; vapor-feed μDMFC; Anodes; Cathodes; Chemicals; Fuels; Liquids; Methanol; Silicon; $mu $ DMFC; μDMFC; composite pervaporation membrane; fuel efficiency; fuel efficiency.; vapor-feed;
Journal_Title :
Microelectromechanical Systems, Journal of
DOI :
10.1109/JMEMS.2014.2327163
