This paper presents our recent effort on application of nanoimprint technology into passive MEMS-based direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) for chip-scale power-embedded system. We fabricated and characterized five kinds of micro DMFC with different nanoimprint pattern and catalyst layers. It was found that the measured fuel cell performance varied with the nanoimprinted patterns because they affec...

As an alternative or supplement to small batteries, the much-anticipated micro-direct methanol fuel cell ( DMFC) faces several key technical issues such as methanol crossover, reactant delivery, and byproduct release. This paper addresses two of the issues, removal of CO2 bubbles and delivery ofmethanol fuel, in a non-prohibitiveway for systemminiaturization. A recently reported bubble-driven p...

Sulfonic acid-functionalized polymer electrolyte membranes alternative to Nafion(®) were developed. These were hydrocarbon systems, such as blend sulfonated polyetheretherketone (s-PEEK), new generation perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) systems, and composite zirconium phosphate-PFSA polymers. The membranes varied in terms of composition, equivalent weight, thickness, and filler and were investigat...

Owing to the serious crossover of methanol from the anode to the cathode through the polymer electrolyte membrane, direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) usually use dilute methanol solutions as fuel. However, the use of high-concentration methanol is highly demanded to improve the energy density of a DMFC system. Instead of the conventional strategies (for example, improving the fuel-feed system, ...

A deep analysis of the Fuel Cells technologies state of the art has been done in this article. After a general description of the fuel cell base structure the six most important fuel cell technologies Polymeric Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC), Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC), Alkaline Fuel Cells (AFC), Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell (PAFC), Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC), Solid Oxide Fu...

In a direct methanol fuel cell system (DMFC), one of the drawbacks is crossover. Methanol from anode passes through membrane and enters cathode, causing mixed potential in cell. Only Pt-based catalysts are capable operating as cathode for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) harsh acidic condition DMFC. However, it causes due to high activity toward oxidation Pt. To overcome this situation, developi...

Methanol crossover (MCO) significantly affects the performance of a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). In order to reduce its effect, this study presents in-house carbon nanofiber webs (CNWs) used as a porous methanol barrier for MCO control in a passive DMFC. The CNW is made from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) by using electrospinning and heat treatment. The impacts of PAN concentration and carbonizin...

Platinum (Pt) is the common catalyst used in a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). However, Pt can lead towards catalyst poisoning by carbonaceous species, thus reduces the performance of DMFC. Thus, this study focuses on the fabrication of a new composite TiO2 carbon nanofiber anodic catalyst support for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) via electrospinning technique. The distance between the t...

Fuel cells have unique technological attributes: efficiency, absence of moving parts and low emissions. The Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) has attracted much attention due to its potential applications as a power source for transportation and portable electronic devices. With the advance of micromachining technologies, miniaturization of power sources became one of the trends of evolution of ...

The possibility of implementing fuel cell technology in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) propulsion systems is considered. Potential advantages of the Proton Exchange Membrane or Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEMFC) and Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC), their fuels (hydrogen and methanol), and their storage systems are revised from technical and environmental standpoints. Some operating commercia...