Integration of silicon micro-hole arrays as a gas diffusion layer in a micro-fuel cell

Abstract

Abstract This work examines silicon micro-hole arrays (Si-MHA) as a gas diffusion layer (GDL) in a micro-fuel cell that was fabricated using micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) fabrication technique. Pt was deposited on the surface of the Si-MHA, to increase the conductivity of the micro-fuel cell. The Si-MHA with three micro-holes, replaces the traditional GDL, and the performance of the micro-proton exchange membrane fuel cell was discussed. Wet etching was performed on a 500 μm-thick layer of silicon to yield fuel channels with a depth of 450 μm and a width of 200 μm. The Si-MHA formed by deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) in the fabricated structure had diameters of 10 μm, 30 μm and 50 μm; the thickness of the structure was 50 μm. The experiment yielded results for 10 μm, 30 μm and 50 μm micro-hole arrays, for various fuel flow rates and under various operating conditions. The maximum power density was approximately 8.13 mW/cm2 with H2/O2 gas flow rates of 30/30 ml/min and 10 μm micro-hole arrays at 20 °C.