Study of catalytic combustion and its effect on microthermophotovoltaic power generators

The demand for compact power sources with high energy density is increasing. A microthermophotovoltaic (micro-TPV) power generator is a renewable energy source with high power density and without moving parts. A thin layer of platinum was successfully deposited on the inner surface of the microcombustor as catalyst by reducing platinum from H2PtCl6, which is able to improve the flame structure in the microcombustor and increase the output power density of the micro-TPV system. The output electrical power of the system with platinum as catalyst is increased by 11–23.8% compared with that without platinum.