Recent Developments in Mems-Based Micro Fuel Cells

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent MEMS-based micro fuel cell technologies, highlighting a new porous silicon membrane that achieves 58 mW/cm² power density at room temperature using hydrogen.

Contribution

It introduces a novel porous silicon-based membrane for micro fuel cells, demonstrating improved power density over traditional ionomer membranes.

Findings

Maximum power density of 58 mW/cm² at room temperature

Use of silane-grafted porous silicon as proton-exchange membrane

Overview of MEMS techniques applied to miniature fuel cells

Abstract

Micro fuel cells ($\mu$-FC) represent promising power sources for portable applications. Today, one of the technological ways to make $\mu$-FC is to have recourse to standard microfabrication techniques used in the fabrication of micro electromechanical systems (MEMS). This paper shows an overview on the applications of MEMS techniques on miniature FC by presenting several solutions developed throughout the world. It also describes the latest developments of a new porous silicon-based miniature fuel cell. Using a silane grafted on an inorganic porous media as the proton-exchange membrane instead of a common ionomer such as Nafion, the fuel cell achieved a maximum power density of 58 mW cm-2 at room temperature with hydrogen as fuel.