In this work, a MFC fabrication procedure including two non-conventional techniques (partial baking and cap-sealing) were employed for the development of an up-scaled microfluidic fuel cell (MFC). Novel carbon-based electrode materials were employed, including carbon foam, fibre, and cloth, the results from which were compared with traditionally-employed carbon paper. The utilization of carbon cloth led to 15% of the maximum power that resulted from carbon paper; however, carbon fibre led to a 24.6% higher power density than carbon paper (normalized by electrode volume). When normalized by projected electrode area, the utilization of carbon foams resulted in power densities up to 42.5% higher than that from carbon paper. The impact of catalyst loading on MFC performance was also investigated, with an increase from 10.9 to 48.3 mgPt cm-2 resulting in a 195% increase in power density.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/33424 |
| Date | 22 November 2012 |
| Creators | Fuerth, Dillon |
| Contributors | Bazylak, Aimy |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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