This work deals with the development of a paper based fuel cell for application in micro-nano systems. In this cell, a porous paper serves as a transport medium and eliminates the need for any metering devices that are integral to conventional fuel cells. Since only very small flow rates of reagents can be achieved on paper, these cells produce only a few milli-watts of power. In this work, formic acid is used as the fuel and potassium permanganate is used as the oxidant. Since the cell presented here is membraneless, both formic acid and potassium permanganate are mixed with sulfuric acid, and they form the anolyte and the catholyte, respectively. A special cell geometry has been designed and implemented to minimize and delay the fuel and oxidant cross over effects. In order to keep the cost low, graphite sheets without † patent application based on the results presented here has been filed through
This paper presents the fabrication and characterization of a 'T'-shaped methanol-based fuel cell supported on paper. Methanol is used as the fuel and potassium permanganate is used as the oxidant. A polyacrylamide based gel, impregnated with H 2 SO 4 limits the fuel and oxidant cross over and serves as the membrane/electrolyte to facilitate the ion transport between anode and cathode. Composite of nitrogen doped graphene oxide and NiCo 2 O 4 micro-spheres, having flower-like structure, is used as the catalyst on both the electrodes to improve the cell performance. The use of catalyst has led to 5 times increase in the peak power density. The catalysts are characterized using XRD, SEM, EDX and TEM. A stack of two paper cells could illuminate an LED for 30 minutes. A simple mathematical model based on Butler-Volmer kinetics is used to predict the cell performance and predictions are compared with experimental measurements.
Self‐pumping T‐shaped mixed‐media paper‐based fuel cells are prepared for the first time by using sodium percarbonate as the fuel, KMnO4 as the oxidant, and a proton‐conducting gel as the electrolyte. Whatman filter papers serve as porous supports for the fluid (catholyte and anolyte) streams. The cell architecture with the Au/NiO (with 11 wt % Au) composite as the catalyst deposited at both electrodes delivers high current and power densities of 5.6 mA cm−2 and 2.6 mW cm−2, respectively. With this catalyst, the maximum current and power densities are enhanced by 75 and 121 %, respectively, as compared to the case without catalyst. Impedance analysis shows that ohmic and polarization resistances can be reduced significantly by use of the Au/NiO (with 11 wt % Au) composite as the catalyst. The ability of this cell to revive and restore its original performance once both the open‐circuit voltage and current density have decayed clearly demonstrates the applicability of this robust, easily disposable cell for powering micro‐/nanodevices.
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