Fabrication and Characterization of Glucose Fuel Cells with a Microchannel Fabricated on Flexible Polyimide Film

Abstract

In this work, a glucose fuel cell was fabricated using microfabrication processes assigned for microelectromechanical systems. The fuel cell was equipped with a microchannel to flow an aqueous solution of glucose. The cell was fabricated on a flexible polyimide substrate, and its porous carbon-coated aluminum (Al) electrodes of 2.8 mm in width and 11 mm in length were formed using photolithography and screen printing techniques. Porous carbon was deposited by screen printing of carbon black ink on the Al electrode surfaces in order to increase the effective electrode surface area and to absorb more enzymes on the electrode surfaces. The microchannel with a depth of 200 μm was fabricated using a hot embossing technique. A maximum power of 0.45 μW at 0.5 V that corresponds to a power density of 1.45 μW/cm 2 was realized by introducing a 200 mM concentrated glucose solution at room temperature.

Stretchable Biofuel Cells with Silver Nanowiring on a Polydimethylsiloxane Substrate

“…The maximum power density of 0.98 μW/cm 2 was comparable to that of previously reported glucose biofuel cells [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Fig.…”

“…However, when these devices are used in the human body, the flexibility and stretchability of biofuel cells are among their most important features. Recently, as a potential candidate for a flexible biofuel cell to be used in vivo, Fukushi et al reported a flexible glucose fuel cell on a polyimide (PI) sheet because PI offers good biocompatibility, with high thermal stability and flexibility [13]. In addition, Miyake et al fabricated flexible biofuel cells with a structure of sandwiched d-fructose dehydrogenase in carbon fabric (CF) [14,15].…”

A Glucose Biofuel Cell Equipped in the Fluid Reservoir of a Polyimide Diaphragm Micropump

“…Togo et al built hydrophobic pillars in a flow path, and fed air individually into three cells [4]. Fukushi et al reported a flexible biofuel cell equipped with a microchannel which mimicked the blood vessels in the human body [5]. However, these biofuel cells equipped with microchannels require large external flow systems that include tubing and pumps to supply the fuels.…”

“…Enzymatic biofuel cells (BFCs) that utilize enzymes as electrocatalysts instead of metals have attracted attention as ubiquitous sustainable power devices that can generate electricity directly from the blood or bodily fluids [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. A characteristic feature of BFCs is their ability to generate power using various kinds of fuels, such as glucose, lipids, and hydrogen.…”

Three-Dimensional Analysis of Liquid Propagation at Microchannel Junction using ESEM

“…In recent years, the three-dimensional microfluidic devices have been actively studied in varieties of fields such as electric, biological, and medical industries [1][2][3][4][5][6]. For extension to the threedimensional, the micro channel and tube applications are recognized as the important key technologies.…”