Abstract
Directed methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are fabricated on printed circuit board (PCB) substrates by means of a photolithography process. The effects of channel pattern, channel width and methanol flow rate on the performance of the fabricated DMFC are evaluated over a range of flow-channel widths from 200 to 400 μm and flow rates of methanol from 2 to 80 ml min-1. A micro-DMFC with a cross-stripe channel pattern gives superior performance compared with zig-zag and serpentine type of pattern. A single cell with a 200-μm wide channel delivers a maximum power density of 33 mW cm-2 when using 2 M methanol feed at 80 °C. An air-breathing multi-DMFC composed of eight single unit cells gave 180 mW cm-2 by using a methanol reservoir. It is considered that this may be the first reported attempt to develop a multi-DMFC with micro-channels fabricated on a PCB substrate.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 27-33 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Power Sources |
| Volume | 161 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2006 Oct 20 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors are grateful to Mr. Beom-Taek Kim for his valuable comments on preparing this publication. This work was supported by the Yonsei University Research Fund of 2005.
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
- Energy Engineering and Power Technology
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering