Porous silicon and micro-fuel cells

Abstract

Miniaturization of fuel cells (FC) can offer a possibility in the field of small energy sources. Many silicon-based technologies can be used to perform microfuel cells and, in particular, porous silicon. In this chapter, after general consideration on fuel cells, we describe the state of the art of porous silicon integration in micro-fuel cells. In particular, we show how porous silicon has arisen as a promising material to perform many functions necessary to the core fuel cell such as proton exchange membrane, gas diffusion layer and catalyst support or flow fields. The performances of the several final devices reported in the literature are discussed.