Characterization of microfluidic fuel cell based on multiple laminar flow

This paper discusses a membraneless microfluidic fuel cell using the multi-stream laminar flow to keep the fuel and oxidant streams separated when they are flowing at a low Reynolds number state. The system we used consists of a microfluidic channel with three inlets. The fuel, oxidant, and the electrolyte solution enter the channel from the inlets and continue to flow in parallel without turbulent mixing (diffusive exchange occurs across the interface at a micro scale). During the working process of the fuel cell, controllable output potential and current of the fuel cell can be obtained and studied by changing the flow rate of the stream between the fuel and the oxidant. Results indicate that this novel design can be used in microscopic scale power source systems such as the lab-on-chip control systems because it is easy to integrate with other micro functional systems. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.