Towards flexible fuel cells: development, challenge and prospect

Abstract

With the emerging demand of point-of-care microelectronics and lab-on-chip based bio-chemical sensors, it essentially requires the fully integrated and reliable solutions of flexible power supplies. Compared to well-demonstrated chip-based battery and capacitor, flexible fuel cell offers unique advantages such as high energy density, easy integration, potential cost effectiveness and portability, receiving the increased attentions and serving as an essential supplement for battery in past decade. This paper gives a brief perspective on the state-of-the-art trend of flexible fuel cells, focusing on the operational system, fabrication approach, power-generation property and application demonstration. The remaining challenges to achieve its commercialization are proposed including unsatisfactory power density, bulky fabrication process and incomplete flexibility.