A tapered serpentine flow field for the anode of micro direct methanol fuel cells

▶ We present a self-breathing micro direct methanol fuel cell (μDMFC) with a tapered single serpentine anode configuration. ▶ The improved structure can enhance the methanol mass transport efficiency and the exhaust resultant (CO2) rate due to the increasing pressure difference between adjacent flow channels. ▶ We fabricate μDMFCs using silicon-based MEMS technologies and investigate experimentally to prove the advantages over the conventional serpentine structure.