Tobias Metz

StarJet: Pneumatic Dispensing of Nano- to Picoliter Droplets of Liquid Metal

In this work we present a novel, simple and robust, pneumatically actuated dispenser for nano- to picoliter sized droplets of liquid metals. The so called StarJet dispenser utilizes a star-shaped nozzle geometry that stabilizes plugs of liquid in the centre of the nozzle by capillary force. This minimizes the wall contact of the liquid plug and reduces contact line friction. Individual droplets of liquid metal can be pneumatically generated by interplay of the sheathing gas flow in the outer grooves of the nozzle and the liquid metal. The working principle was first discovered and studied by Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulations. For experimental validation silicon chips with the star-shaped geometry were fabricated by Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE) and assembled into a printhead. With different nozzle chips volumes between 120 pl and 3.6 nl could be generated at natural frequencies of 90 Hz and 400 Hz. The StarJet can either be operated as drop on demand or as continuous droplet dispenser. We printed columns of metal with 0,5 to 1,0 mm width and 40 mm height (aspect ratio ≫40) to demonstrate the directional stability of the ejection.

Aliquoting structure for centrifugal microfluidics based on a new pneumatic valve

We present a new microvalve that can be monolithically integrated in centrifugally driven lab-on-a-chip systems. In contrast to existing operation principles that use hydrophobic patches, geometrically defined capillary stops or siphons, here we present a pneumatic principle. It needs neither additional local coatings nor expensive micro sized geometries. The valve is controlled by the spinning frequency and can be switched to be open when the centrifugal pressure overcomes the pneumatic pressure inside an unvented reaction cavity. We designed and characterized valves ranging in centrifugal burst pressure from 6700 Pa to 2100 Pa. Based on this valving principle we present a new structure for aliquoting of liquids. We experimentally demonstrated this by splitting 105 muL volumes into 16 aliquots with a volume CV of 3 %.

Passive water management for µfuel-cells using capillary microstructures

In this work we present a novel system for the passive water management in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEMFC) based on capillary effects in microstructures. The system removes abundant water that occurs at low temperatures at a fuel cell cathode and secures the humidity of the electrolyte membrane on higher temperatures. Liquid water is removed by hydrophilic gas supply channels with a tapered cross section as presented previously, and further transported by a system of capillary channels and a layer of nonwoven material. To prevent the membrane from running dry, a storage area in the nonwoven layer is introduced, controlled by a novel passive capillary overflow valve. The valve controls whether water is stored or finally disposed by gravity and evaporation. Experiments in a model system show that the nonwoven material is capable of removing all liquid water that can be produced by the fuel cell. A miniaturized fuel cell utilizing the novel water removal system was fabricated and experiments show that the system can stabilize the performance during changes of electrical load. Clearing the drowned miniaturized fuel cell flow field was proven and required 2 min. To make the capillary effects available for the originally hydrophobic graphite composite materials that were used to fabricate the flow fields, hydrophilic grafting based on photochemistry was applied to the material and contact angles of about 40° could be achieved and preserved for at least three months.

Fully passive degassing and fuel supply in direct methanol fuel cells

In this paper a micro direct methanol fuel cell (muDMFC) is presented, which is operated in a completely passive way, i.e. the cell does not require an external pump for fuel supply. The surface energy of deformed CO2 bubbles, generated as a reaction product during DMFC operation, is employed to supply methanol to the anode. In contrast to a digital valve based approach presented earlier by Meng et. al. [1], a tapered channel is applied to achieve a pumping mechanism. This way the pump rates can be adapted to the requirements of a specific cell. The presented study reveals that this concept is able to maintain the supply for all typical DMFC operation conditions. Experimental results are presented that demonstrate the continuous operation of a passive muDMFC for more than 15 hours.

Micro structured flow field for passive water management in miniaturized PEM fuel cells

In this work a novel flow field for the passive water management in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) is described. A triangular micro channel forces condensing water droplets to detach from the gas diffusion layer (GDL) in order to ensure proper oxygen supply. Water droplets are lifted into a secondary channel, and transported out of the fuel cell by capillary forces. Different droplet shapes inside the channels are identified. Preferred shapes cover the GDL only slightly and can be attained for contact angles typical for fuel cell materials. The new channel design was compared in a test fuel cell to standard square channels in particular in the starting phase of the cell at low working temperatures (22degC). The new channel design keeps the cell at 95% of its initial performance compared to 60% when using the standard design.