Micro fuel cells, fundamentals, recent developments, Potential Operational and Performance Issues

Micro fuel cell (MFC) refers to small fuel cells that are designed to power portable electronics equipment, and in many cases can be integrated into the electronic device itself. A micro fuel cell is a portable source of energy that converts chemical energy of a fuel into useable electrical energy under ambient conditions. In general it generates power through the electrochemical oxidation of a fuel on a catalytic surface. The oxidant is generally air or oxygen. The fuel in a micro fuel cell generally refers to methanol, a form of alcohol, a safe, noncombustible, inexpensive, renewable, plant based energy source. Micro fuel cells offer cheap and easy means to power electronic devices by simple refuelling, enabling continuous use when travelling with no access to the power grid. In this review we investigate fundamentals, recent developments of micro fuel cells.