Carbon-based materials for bipolar plates for low-temperatures PEM fuel cells — A review

Abstract

The PEMFC (Polymer Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell) is one of the most researched generators in hydrogen technology. The PEMFCs offer low emissions, several applications in industry with high power density. The basic material for the construction of components in low-temperature fuel cells is carbon or its allotropic forms and carbon nanomaterials. Carbon materials are used to build diffusion layers of electrodes, as catalyst carriers, for the construction of covers/interconnectors and as fuel. In this work, the carbon materials used to build a single cell have been reviewed taking into account various methods of fabrication and modification of materials.

Polymer based flow field plates for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell and the scope of additive manufacturing: A techno‐economic review

“…The corrosion characteristics of FFP at the anode (45 mΩ cm 2 ) and cathode (58 mΩ cm 2 ) matched the DoE's goals. However, bulky volume negatively impacts the power density of the stack 35 …”

“…However, bulky volume negatively impacts the power density of the stack. 35 It has been broadly defined that a single PEMFC with aluminium hybrid or copper hybrid FFPs outstrips performance in contrast to a fuel cell with polymer composite FFPs that are spick and span. 70,71 The overall performance of metal mesh hybrid polymer composites justifies their prospective applicability as FFPs for PEMFCs, reported by Blunk (2014).…”

“…PEMFC FFPs have conventionally been made of natural and synthetic graphite as the leading material, which is corrosion resistant and low‐cost that displays high electrical conductivity, a deficit of poisoning agents, and low surface contact resistance or inter‐facial contact resistance 34 . On the contrary, graphite possesses low mechanical characteristics (brittleness), high production costs, and is challenging to contend with its bulky molecular composition, which is consequently several millimeters thick, which results in volume consumption, leading to heavy FFPs 35 …”

“…34 On the contrary, graphite possesses low mechanical characteristics (brittleness), high production costs, and is challenging to contend with its bulky molecular composition, which is consequently several millimeters thick, which results in volume consumption, leading to heavy FFPs. 35 As an alternative, metal FFPs expanded attention owing to their exceptional electrical and thermal conductive characteristics. Metal FFPs were traditionally made from stainless steel (SS) or aluminium which can be produced large-scale at a relatively low cost.…”

Performance of Nb0.8Zr0.2 Layer-Modified AISI430 Stainless Steel as Bipolar Plates for Direct Formic Acid Fuel Cells

“…Different types of bipolar plate materials, such as nonporous graphite [24,25], carbon-polymer composite [26,27], and metal [15,28], have been investigated to achieve the above-mentioned stringent target properties. At present, the technology of preparing graphite bipolar plates is basically mature and has intrinsic high electrical conductivity and remarkable corrosion resistance in the DFAFCs environments [29].…”