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Miniature fuel cells fabricated on silicon substrates
Author(s) -
Kelley S. C.,
Deluga G. A.,
Smyrl W. H.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.690480516
Subject(s) - anode , separator (oil production) , methanol , wafer , materials science , methanol fuel , silicon , electrolyte , chemical engineering , polymer , catalysis , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , chemistry , composite material , electrode , organic chemistry , engineering , physics , thermodynamics
Novel miniature fuel cells were fabricated from micromachined silicon wafers. The cells used methanol and air as reactants, and a thin polymer electrolyte as separator. The assembled cells had a working volume of 12 mm 3 and could be scaled down in size by three orders of magnitude by simple adjustments of the masking and etching procedures. Electrodeposition of Pt‐Ru as the anode catalyst (oxidation of methanol) was successful in lowering the loading to 0.25 mg/cm 2 without loss of performance. Cell performance approached that of the best, state‐of‐the‐art, large fuel cells, when scaled for size. In particular, single miniature cells yielded 822 Wh/kg and 924 Wh/L when operated at 70°C. The same chip design was also used for the hydrogen/air system, and the cell current, power, and specific energy density were higher than those of methanol/air, Further tailoring of the chips for spefici fuels could lead to further improvements.