A novel integration approach for combining the micro thermal sensor and stainless steel foil as gas diffusion layer in micro fuel cell

Fuel cells will be used extensively in the future as renewable energy sources and they are the subject of substantial research. However, various problems are encountered with their mass production, such as the bipolar plate, the flow channel, the catalyst, the membrane electrode assembly (MEA), and the gas diffusion layer (GDL). Given the present uneven gas reactions and the difficulty of obtaining information on the temperature in a fuel cell, this novel investigation utilized micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS) to integrate a micro thermal sensor and a stainless steel foil as a gas diffusion layer. The reaction inside a micro fuel cell must be controlled and adjusted in real time. The results of the experiment demonstrated that the accuracy and sensitivity of the micro thermal sensor were 0.5 degrees C and 1.805 x 10(-3)/degrees C, respectively. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.