Membraneless Fuel Cell Is Tiny, Versatile [View All]

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A fuel cell designed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign can operate without a solid membrane separating fuel and oxidant, and functions with alkaline chemistry in addition to the more common acidic chemistry.

“The system uses a Y-shaped microfluidic channel in which two liquid streams containing fuel and oxidant merge and flow between catalyst-covered electrodes without mixing,” said Paul Kenis, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and a researcher at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology.

Fluids flowing through channels of microscale dimensions behave differently than fluids flowing through the much larger pipes found in home plumbing systems, Kenis said. “At the microscale, there is no turbulence. This laminar flow means streams of fuel and oxidant can pass side by side without having a physical barrier in between.”

This configuration offers several advantages over PEM-based fuel cells, including fewer parts and simpler design. It also means that membraneless fuel cells are compatible with alkaline chemistry.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/03/050325160631.htm