Polymer separator to minimize crossover in microfluidic direct methanol fuel cells

Weiwei Huo, Fengchun Sun, Hongwen He*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Microfluidic direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) overcome some key issues- fuel crossover and water management - that typically hampers conventional polymer electrolyte-based fuel cells. Here we report a method to further minimize fuel crossover in microfluidic DMFC. First, a polymer separator at the interface of the fuel and electrolyte streams in a single-channel microfluidic DMFC to reduce the cross-sectional area across which methanol can diffuse. Maximum power densities of 6.8 mW cm-2 were obtained with a separator with when using 2 M methanol. This simple design improvement reduces loss at the cathode leading to better performance.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationIEEE Transportation Electrification Conference and Expo, ITEC Asia-Pacific 2014 - Conference Proceedings
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
ISBN (Electronic)9781479942398
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Oct 2014
Event2014 IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference and Expo, ITEC Asia-Pacific 2014 - Beijing, China
Duration: 31 Aug 20143 Sept 2014

Publication series

NameIEEE Transportation Electrification Conference and Expo, ITEC Asia-Pacific 2014 - Conference Proceedings

Conference

Conference2014 IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference and Expo, ITEC Asia-Pacific 2014
Country/TerritoryChina
CityBeijing
Period31/08/143/09/14

Keywords

  • Laminar flow
  • Methanol crossover
  • Microfluidic direct methanol fuel cell

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