CNTs nanostructuring effect on the properties of graphite composite bipolar plate

Abstract

Intent of present investigation is to improve the properties of graphite-polymer composite bipolar plate by nanostructuring. This involves the incorporation of different vol.% of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) in graphite-polymer composite bipolar plate. It has been found that by inclusion of 1 vol.% of MWNTs in graphite composite plate, the electrical and thermal conductivity of nanocomposite increased by 100%. The thermal conductivity of nanocomposite plate increases from 1 W/m K to 13 W/m K in throughplane and in-plane from 25 W/m K to 50 W/m K at 1 vol.% of MWNTs. This significant enhancement is due to the orientation of MWNTs in all the directions of composite, positive synergistic effect of MWNTs and heat transfer along the axis directions. However, bending strength of nanocomposite increases by 25% and maximum augmentation is in case of 1 vol. % of MWNTs. The improvement in conductivity of nanocomposite plate is due to an increase in the electron transfer ability within the composite plate which influences the I-V performance of ultimate fuel cell. These observations confirm that the optimal content of MWNTs is 1 vol.%, in graphite-polymer composite.

Development of highly conductive graphite‐/graphene‐filled polybenzoxazine composites for bipolar plates in fuel cells

“…Dhakate et al . have developed highly graphite/multiwall carbon nanotube in phenolic resin having 65 wt % maximum packing density . Taherian et al .…”

Effect of Bipolar Plate Materials on Performance of Fuel Cells

“…The electrical conductivity they reported after their investigation was 5.6 S cm À1 . The electrical properties of bipolar plate were also investigated to ascertain the impact of some processing factors on their performance [132][133][134][135][136][137][138][139][140][141][142][143][144][145][146][147].…”

Ultra‐thin carbon/silicon carbide composite bipolar plate for advanced fuel cells

“…Fuel cell is the most promising and efficient alternative source of energy for a variety of portable, stationary electronic devices, and mobile applications due to their excellent features, such as: High efficiency, high power density, lower operating temperature, quick start-up time, convenient fuel supply, low noise and long life time [1][2][3][4]. The bipolar plate constitutes 80 % of the weight and 40 % of the total cost of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel stack [5,6].…”