Patent ID: 7648665

Claim:
A method for fabricating a microfibrous fuel cell structure, comprising the steps of: (a) providing a core fiber comprising a solid material; (b) forming at least one layer of a swellable polymeric membrane-forming material over said core fiber; and (c) contacting said at least one layer of the swellable polymeric membrane-forming material with a swelling agent, so that the at least one layer of the swellable polymeric membrane-forming material expands and detaches from the core fiber; and (d) subsequently removing the detached core fiber, so as to form a hollow fibrous membrane separator having a bore side and a shell side, wherein the microfibrous fuel cell structure comprises (1) an inner current collector, (2) an outer current collector, (3) the hollow fibrous membrane separator, wherein said hollow fibrous membrane separator comprises an electrolyte medium and is in electrical contact with the inner current collector at its bore side and the outer current collector at its shell side, and wherein the bore side of the hollow fibrous membrane separator further comprises a lumen allowing passage of fluid therethrough, (4) an inner electrocatalyst layer coating on the hollow fibrous membrane separator at its bore side, and (5) an outer electrocatalyst layer coating on the hollow fibrous membrane separator at its shell side.