Experimental study on the membrane electrode assembly of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell: effects of microporous layer, membrane thickness and gas diffusion layer hydrophobic treatment

Ferreira, Rui B.; Falcão, D.S.; Oliveira, Vânia; Pinto, Ana Isabel

doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2016.12.074

Cited by 97 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The application of a hydrophobic MPL reduces the hydrophobicity in the environments with a high porosity decrease, probably because of an increased flow resistance from the inclusion of the MPL . Laboratory studies approve the important role of an MPL in improving the water management (for more details, see Table ) and thermal management, and also confirm the PEMFC performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 63%

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Effects of an MPL on water and thermal management in a PEMFC

2018

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Summary In this study, the effects of adding a microporous layer (MPL) as well as the impact of its physical properties on polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEMFC) performance with serpentine flow channels were investigated. In addition, numerical simulations were performed to reveal the effect of relative humidity and operating temperature. It is indicated that adding an extra between the gas diffusion layer (GDL) and catalyst layer (CL), a discontinuity in the liquid saturation shows up at their interface because of differences in the wetting properties of the layers. In addition, results show that a higher MPL porosity causes the liquid water saturation to decrease and the cell performance is improved. A larger MPL thickness reduces the cell performance. The effects of MPL on temperature distribution and thermal transport of the membrane prove that the MPL in addition to being a water management layer also improves the thermal management of the PEMFC.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 63%

“…Ferreira et al 31 (2017) E Used electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to analyze the influence of MPL in the performance of a PEMFC. Results show that adding an MPL increases cell performance at low to medium current densities.…”

Section: Deevanhxay Et Al 27 (2013)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of an MPL on water and thermal management in a PEMFC

2018

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“…Activation loss can be calculated by extrapolating the iR-free cell voltage at a very low measured current density over the entire current density range using a Tafel slope, which was obtained based on the actual cell voltage range of 0.01-0.1 A/cm 2 . There are some techniques to measure mass transport loss; 21,22 in this paper, the mass transfer loss (η mt ) is estimated to be the difference between the corrected cell voltage E cor (theoretical cell voltage) and the iR-free cell voltage (E cell + iR), where E cor is obtained by using the empirical Tafel equation (E cor = a + b logi):…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Properties of Hydrophilic Microporous Layer (MPL) on PEFC Performance

Tanuma

Kawamoto

Kinoshita

2017

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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For better water management in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs), microporous layers (MPLs) are generally used. In this paper, hydrophilic MPLs having various pore volumes and diameters were prepared using a range of carbon materials, and the effect of the MPL on the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) performance was investigated under dry and wet conditions. Under the dry condition (80 • C, 30%RH), the MEA employing an MPL with a larger median pore diameter showed higher cell voltage, suggesting that the MPL with a larger pore diameter has better gas diffusivity, leading to better MEA performance. Under the wet condition (80 • C, 100%RH), it was confirmed that pore volume of the MPL has a significant impact on the MEA performance and that the hydrophilic MPL with a large pore volume was effective in reducing water flooding in the cathode catalyst layer. When used in an MPL, VGCF-H (carbon fiber with a fiber diameter of 150 nm) gives the largest pore diameter and pore volume. This MEA with a hydrophilic MPL (made of VGCF-H and ionomer) showed the best MEA performance under both dry and wet operating conditions.

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“…At medium and high current density, the parallel circuit R d /CPE d is added in series with cathodic charge transfer resistance (Figure 2b) [5,58] to model concentration polarization losses due to diffusive limitations. Constant phase elements (CPE) were used instead of pure capacitances to consider the capacitive losses [5] due to porosity of electrodes [12,47]. Moreover, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) (Lamberti S.p.A., Albizzate, Italy), a well-known rheology controller and wettability modulator, which has already been used in this field [53,55,56], was also employed to consolidate surface layers improving adhesion between MPL and GDL and to enhance durability of the best performing FEP-based MPLs.…”

Section: Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At medium and high current density, the parallel circuit Rd/CPEd is added in series with cathodic charge transfer resistance (Figure 2b) [5,58] to model concentration polarization losses due to diffusive limitations. Constant phase elements (CPE) were used instead of pure capacitances to consider the capacitive losses [5] due to porosity of electrodes [12,47]. After determining electrochemical behavior of samples, fuel cells assembled with such GDMs were run at constant current density (0.5 A cm −2 ) for 1000 h to test their durability at a point that was regarded typical of energy generation for actual prototypes; the voltage degradation rate (µV h −1 ) and the global cell efficiency over the time were considered as significant parameters for the system evaluation [5].…”

Section: Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance Evaluation and Durability Enhancement of FEP-Based Gas Diffusion Media for PEM Fuel Cells

et al. 2017

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Nowadays, micro-porous layers (MPLs) for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are commonly deposited onto gas diffusion layer (GDL) substrates starting from hydrophobic carbon-based dispersions. In this work, different quantities of fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP), a fluorinated copolymer proven to be superior to polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) for a proper water management, were used to make both GDL and MPL hydrophobic. After the identification of the optimal amount of FEP, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) was also added to gas diffusion media (GDM) to reduce overall ohmic resistance of the whole device and adhesion of MPLs to GDLs. Ex-situ chemical and mechanical accelerated stress tests (ASTs) were carried out to accelerate degradation of materials aiming to assess their durability. The highest quantity of FEP in GDMs led to the best electrochemical and diffusive properties. The presence of CMC allowed reducing overall ohmic resistance due to a better electrolyte hydration. A satisfactory durability was proven since the fundamental properties related to gas diffusion medium, such as wettability, ohmic and mass transport resistances, revealed to be quasi-stable upon ASTs.

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Experimental study on the membrane electrode assembly of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell: effects of microporous layer, membrane thickness and gas diffusion layer hydrophobic treatment

Cited by 97 publications

References 16 publications

Effects of an MPL on water and thermal management in a PEMFC

Effects of an MPL on water and thermal management in a PEMFC

Effect of Properties of Hydrophilic Microporous Layer (MPL) on PEFC Performance

Performance Evaluation and Durability Enhancement of FEP-Based Gas Diffusion Media for PEM Fuel Cells

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