Design, fabrication and characterization of miniature direct methanol fuel cell using platinum-sputtered microcolumn electrodes with limited fuel source

Abstract

We present a miniature direct methanol fuel cell (micro-DMFC) using platinum-sputtered microcolumn electrodes with a built-in fuel chamber to improve power density. We designed and fabricated both microcolumn and planar electrodes with an identical projective area of 4.5 mm x 4.5 mm. In an experimental study, we performed a single-cell test to compare the microcolumn electrode with the planar electrode. In the single-cell test, the micro-DMFC with microcolumn electrodes showed a maximum power of 24.8 muW (122.4 muW/cm(2)) at 0.65 V, while the micro-DMFC with planar electrodes showed a maximum power of 1.1 muW (5.6 muW/cm(2)) at a voltage of 0.08 V. The micro-DMFC with microcolumn electrodes showed a constant maximum power of 122.4 muW/cm(2) over 40 min. The micro-DMFC with microcolumn electrodes had a maximum power density 22 times higher than that of the micro-DMFC with planar electrodes in a single-cell test.