Lal, Sweta and Sahu, Kirti Chandra
(2019)
Small-scale power generation using paper based fuel cells.
PhD thesis, Indian institute of technology Hyderabad.
Abstract
Paper based microfluidics has emerged as a promising technology for the development of
low cost energy devices such as, paper based fuel cells for powering point-of-care (POC)
diagnostic devices. These devices include glucometers, pregnancy detection kits etc. The
diagnostic devices that are used in the environmental, health monitoring, micro/nano electromechanical
systems (MEMS), wireless electronics etc. require power for a short duration
and in milli-nano watt range for the analysis and display of the results/diagnosis. These
are referred to as micro-nano devices (MNS). These devices are low power consuming and
require the electrical input for a few seconds to a few minutes and are usually disposed
after one-time use.
Currently Li-ion batteries are used as the source of power in these devices. Apart from
batteries other potential powering sources are solar cells and microbial fuel cells, however
these have certain limitations associated with them. For instance, functioning of solar cells
is dependent on the availability of sunlight, microbial fuel cells deliver power in the microwatt
ranges and require strict environment control for their operation. The use of batteries
in single-use, disposable devices is not recommended as it leads to under utilization of
stored energy and resourceful materials. Moreover, keeping in view of the growing energy
demand which may surpass the available energy sources, finding cost-e�ective powering
sources for low-power requiring devices is necessary.
Micro-fuel cells can be thought of as an alternative to the aforementioned power sources.
However, in general fuel cells require metering devices for the supply of fuel and oxidant,
which makes the overall system cumbersome. Paper can transport liquid fuels due
to its remarkable intrinsic properties such as, porosity and capillarity. Furthermore, paper
is cheap, easily available, easy to shape and dispose (biodegradable), without posing any
environmental threats. Due to these benefits paper can easily provide the platform for the
functioning of energy devices which are based on liquid fuel, oxidants and electrolytes.
Due its intrinsic transport properties, paper based fuel cells don’t need any external pumping
mechanism or ancillary parts to pump the fluids through the system. This not only
reduces the fabrication and operational complexity to a great extent, but also minimizes the
overall cost.
The development and fabrication of various paper-based fuel cells in di�erent architectures,has been extensively studied by researchers recently. However, some of these either use expensive
noble metal catalyst (Pt, Au, Pd) to attain high power densities or micro-organisms
(bacteria) for their operation (as in microbial fuel cell), which limits their application in
MNSs.
The primary objective of this thesis is to develop, fabricate and characterize low-cost, easy
to use and disposable paper based fuel cells for powering micro-nano devices at room temperature.
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