The miniaturization of the µPEMFC can be readily achieved by scaling down the size of the cell components, it, however, strongly depends on the development of the micro-scaled tailoring, fabricating and assembling technologies [1, 2]. Therefore, designing a novel architecture that integrates the different components will be a more effective way to miniaturize the cell system. This work presents an efficient strategy by developing a four-in-one electrode, in which the functions of the flow field, backing layer, micro-porous layer, and catalyst layer are brought together. This integrated design facilitates the mass and charge transport as well as extends the three-phase boundary, thereby enabling to miniaturize the cell system while enhance the power output [3, 4]. It has been demonstrated that when applying a pair of the four-in-one electrode (the height, length and width respective 500 µm, 4 mm and 4 mm) to the liquid-feed µPEMFC, the peak power density goes up to 123 mW cm^-2 even at room temperature. This four-in-one electrode makes it possible to develop a simple-structure and high-performance liquid-feed µPEMFC for lab-on-a-chip applications.

References

[1] J.P. Esquivel, M. Castellarnau, T. Senn, B. Lochel, J. Samitier, N. Sabat, Lab. Chip, 2012, 12: 74-79.

[2] Y. S. Li, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 2016, 41: 3600-3604.

[3] Y.S. Li, J.H. Lv, Y.L. He, J. Electrochem. Soc., 2016, 163: F424-F427.

[4] Y.S. Li, Y.L. He, J. Electrochem. Soc., 2016, 163: F663-F667.