Single microfluidic fuel cell with three fuels – formic acid, glucose and microbes: A comparative performance investigation

Jayapiriya Umarani Sivakumar, Lanka Tata Rao, Prakash Rewatkar, Haroon Khan, Satish Kumar Dubey, Arshad Javed, Gyu Man Kim, Sanket Goel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

The development of microfluidic and nanofluidic devices is gaining remarkable attention due to the emphasis put on miniaturization of conventional energy conversion and storage processes. A microfluidic fuel cell can integrate flow of electrolytes, electrode-electrolyte interactions, and power generation in a microchannel. Such microfluidic fuel cells can be categorized on the basis of electrolytes and catalysts used for power generation. In this work, for the first time, a single microfluidic fuel cell was harnessed by using different fuels like glucose, microbes and formic acid. Herein, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) acted as electrode material, and performance investigations were carried out separately on the same microfluidic device for three different types of fuel cells (formic acid, microbial and enzymatic). The fabricated miniaturized microfluidic device was successfully used to harvest energy in microwatts from formic acid, microbes and glucose, without any metallic catalyst. The developed microfluidic fuel cells can maintain stable open-circuit voltage, which can be used for energizing various low-power portable devices or applications. Keywords.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)305-316
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Electrochemical Science and Engineering
Volume11
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 5 Oct 2021

Keywords

  • Biocatalysis
  • Biofuel
  • Chemical fuel
  • Electrocatalysis
  • Portable devices

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