MEMS-Based Microfluidic Fuel Cell for In Situ Analysis of the Cell Performance on The Electrode Surface

The present study investigates various effects of MEMS-based microfluidic fuel cell on the performance of direct formic acid microfluidic fuel cells that breathe air as an oxidant. A miniaturized fuel cell of the structure and design of a typical T-shaped air- breathing Direct Formic Acid Fuel Cell with micro channel is 1.5 mm x 25 mm in width multiply length. Both anode and cathode electrode having a width and length of 0.6 mm and 20 mm, respectively, with an electrode spacing of 0.3 mm. An air-breathing microfluidic fuel cell having a 0.6 mm in width and 20 mm in length that is placed on cathode GDE down-side. In such systems for the fluid delivery, both formic acid (0.5 M) as a fuel solution mixing sulfuric acid (0.5 M) at a node channel side and as an electrolyte used sulfuric acid (0.5 M) place take on the cathode channel side are injected together into the end of the channel outlet by two syringe pumps. Firstly, a three-dimensional microfluidic fuel cell model was established using Computational Fluids Dynamics to simulate the fuel cell performance. Further, both V-I curves obtained from simulation and published experimental data under similar operating condition were compared to assure the validity of the simulation. Modelling the transport and electrochemical phenomena were described with hydrodynamic equations, the porous media flow, mass transport, electrochemical reaction and charge equation. The porous media flow in the gas diffusion layer was described by Brinkman equation. The Butler-Volmer equations were applied to get the V-I-P curves. An anode electrode surface performance, respectively, is presented.