Portable electronic devices are already an indispensable part of our daily life; and their increasing number and demand for higher performance is becoming a challenge for the research community. In particular, a major concern is the way to efficiently power these energy-demanding devices, assuring long grid independency with high efficiency, sustainability and cheap production. In this context, technologies beyond Li-ion are receiving increasing attention, among which the development of micro solid oxide fuel cells (μSOFC) stands out. In particular, μSOFC provides a high energy density, high efficiency and opens the possibility to the use of different fuels, such as hydrocarbons. Yet, its high operating temperature has typically hindered its application as miniaturized portable device. Recent advances have however set a completely new range of lower operating temperatures, i.e. 350-450°C, as compared to the typical <900°C needed for classical bulk SOFC systems. In this work, a comprehensive review of the status of the technology is presented. The main achievements, as well as the most important challenges still pending are discussed, regarding (i.) the cell design and microfabrication, and (ii.) the integration of functional electrolyte and electrode materials. To conclude, the different strategies foreseen for a wide deployment of the technology as new portable power source are underlined.
A novel design of a fuel-flexible micro-reactor for hydrogen generation from ethanol and methane is proposed in this
work. The micro-reactor is fully fabricated with mainstream MEMS technology and consists of an array of more than
20000 through-silicon vertically aligned micro-channels per cm2 of 50 μm in diameter. Due to this unique configuration,
the micro-reformer presents a total surface per projected area of 16 cm2/cm2 and per volume of 320 cm2/cm3. The active
surface of the micro-reformer, i.e. the walls of the micro-channels, is homogenously coated with a thin film of Rh-
Pd/CeO2 catalyst. Excellent steam reforming of ethanol and dry reforming of methane are presented with hydrogen
production rates above 3 mL/min·cm2 and hydrogen selectivity of ca. 50% on a dry basis at operations conditions
suitable for application in micro-solid oxide fuel cells (micro-SOFCs), i.e. 700-800ºC and fuel flows of 0.02 mLL/min for
ethanol and 36 mLG/min for methane (corresponding to a system able to produce one electrical watt).
The present study is devoted to analyze the compatibility of yttria-stabilized zirconia thin films prepared by pulsed laser
deposition technique for developing new silicon-based micro devices for micro solid oxide fuel cells applications. Yttriastabilized
zirconia free-standing membranes with thicknesses from 60 to 240 nm and surface areas between 50x50 μm2
and 820x820 μm2 were fabricated on micromachined Si/SiO2/Si3N4 substrates. Deposition process was optimized for
deposition temperatures from 200ºC to 800ºC. A complete mechanical study comprising thermomechanical stability,
residual stress of the membranes and annealing treatment as well as a preliminary electrical characterization of ionic
conductivity was performed in order to evaluate the best processing parameters for the yttria-stabilized zirconia
membranes.
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