FUEL CELLS – PROTON-EXCHANGE MEMBRANE FUEL CELLS | High Temperature PEMFCs

Heinzel, A.; Bandlamudi, G.; Lehnert, Werner

doi:10.1016/b978-044452745-5.00855-8

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 18 publications

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“…Fuel cells are coming closer to commercialization due to significant recent progress and since they have the potential to contribute to solving the problem of an increasing global demand for mobile power sources. − Among the many types of fuel cells, the ones most commonly used for mobile and stationary applications are polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). One of the key issues in their development is the management of water evolution and flow, which determines reliability and lifetime of such cells. − …”

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confidence: 99%

In Operando Quantification of Three-Dimensional Water Distribution in Nanoporous Carbon-Based Layers in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

et al. 2017

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Understanding the function of nanoporous materials employed in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is crucial to improve their performance, durability, and cost efficiency. Up to now, the water distribution in the nm-sized pore structures was hardly accessible during operation of the cells. Here we demonstrate that phase contrast synchrotron X-ray tomography allows for an in operando quantification of the three-dimensional water distribution within the nm-sized pores of carbon-based microporous layers (MPLs). For this purpose, a fuel cell design optimized for tomographic phase contrast measurements was realized. Water in the pores of the entire MPL was detected and quantified. We found an inhomogeneous distribution of the local water saturation and a sharp boundary between mostly filled MPL and almost empty areas. We attribute the latter observation to the two-phase boundary created because condensation takes place predominantly on one side of the boundary. Furthermore, high water saturation in large areas hints at gas diffusion or transport along preferred three-dimensional paths through the material, therefore bypassing most of the MPL volume. Our approach may contribute significantly to future investigations of nanoporous fuel cell materials under realistic operating conditions.

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