A FLEXIBLE, FOLDABLE, TUBULAR μDMFC FOR POWERING WRIST BANDS

This paper reports a flexible tubular passive micro direct methanol fuel cell (mu DMFC) for powering wrist bands at the first time. The tubular mu DMFC, featured by flexible electrodes and foldable whole structure, shows excellent power density and long-term performance compared to batteries. The novelty claims of this work are: (I) a novel foldable structure and its fabrication, as well as assembly method proposed are usable for the flexible tubular mu DMFCs and even other multi-layer flexible microfluidic devices; (2) the prototype achieves a power density of 15.3mWcm(-2) and a maximum output of 38mW at room temperature; (3) the assembled mu DMFC with a DC/DC converter is integrated into a wristband to power a LED and a DC motor (25mW) for about 20h with 1 mL methanol. As such, it is believed that this mu DMFC is applicable to serve as the power unit for wrist bands (typically 1 similar to 20mW) or even other wearable devices.