The fabrication and performance of a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-based microreformer for application to electronics

A miniaturized poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-based methanol steam reformer having a serpentine microchannel for application in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has been developed. The fabricated PDMS microreformer consists of four layers, and a commercial thin-flexible heater for reforming reaction is embedded in the PDMS layers. The volume of a PDMS microreformer is about 10cm3. The commercial Cu/ZnO/Al2O3Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 reforming catalyst was used and the Cu/ZnO/Al2O3Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 reforming catalyst particles of mean diameter 50–70μm was packed into the microchannels by fluidized method. In this study, the miniaturized PDMS microreformer was operated successfully in the operating temperatures of 180–240∘C and 30–40% molar methanol conversion was achieved in the temperature range for the feed rate of 10 and 50μlmin-1.