Rapid, simple and low cost fabrication of a microfluidic direct methanol fuel cell based on polydimethylsiloxane

• Published in: Microsystem technologies : sensors, actuators, systems integration Vol. 20; no. 3; pp. 493 - 498
• Main Authors: Huo, Weiwei, Zhou, Yi, He, Hongwen, Sun, Fengchun, Zou, Zhiqing, Yang, Hui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.03.2014; Springer
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Electronics and Microelectronics; Energy; Energy. Thermal use of fuels; Engineering; Exact sciences and technology; Instrumentation; Mechanical Engineering; Nanotechnology; Technical Paper; Transport and storage of energy; Methanol Oxidation; Direct Methanol Fuel Cell; Fuel Cell; PDMS; Seed Layer; Dimethylsiloxane polymer; Viscosity; Fluid mechanics; Nanoparticle; Plasma assisted processing; System on a chip; Electrodes; Cyclic voltammetry; Plating; Miniaturization; Microstructure; Catalyst; Microfluidics; Fuel cell; Electrophoretic deposition; Methanol

In this paper a simple and rapid fabrication method for a microfluidic direct methanol fuel cell using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as substrate is demonstrated. A gold layer on PDMS substrate as seed layer was obtained by chemical plating instead of conventional metal evaporation or sputtering. The...