Electrooxidation study of methanol in a laminar flow membraneless microfluidic fuel cell-a review

This paper presents development of conceptual design model of membraneless microfluidic methanol fuel cell system for portable device application. Direct-methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is an alternative source of energy. It has more energy density than gaseous fuels. Fuel cell operating under alkaline conditions has positive effects on the reaction kinetics both at the anode and cathode, while the cell performance under “mixed-media” conditions offers an opportunity to increase the maximum achievable open cell voltage (OCV). Although methanol microfluidic fuel has many disadvantages they can be minimized in changing the device parameters and using appropriate catalyst.