Study of substrate‐free microporous layer of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. (15th March 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wang, Manli; Hou, Ming; Gao, Yanyan; Chen, Haiping; Lv, Bo; Song, Wei; Shao, Zhigang
• Is Part Of: International journal of energy research. Volume 46:Number 7(2022)
• Page Start: 9782
• Page End: 9793
• Publication Date: 2022-03-15
• Subjects: gas diffusion layer -- membrane hydration -- proton exchange membrane fuel cell -- substrate‐free microporous layer -- water management; Power resources -- Periodicals; Power (Mechanics) -- Periodicals; Power resources -- Research -- Periodicals; 621.042
• DOI: 10.1002/er.7851
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0363-907X

Abstract

Summary: The gas diffusion layer (GDL) is a vital constituent of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), which directly affects the performance and cost of PEMFCs. Also, the GDL integration can simplify the structure of PEMFC. Herein, a novel substrate‐free microporous layer (sfMPL) has been successfully prepared by a dry‐press method, which broadens the usable humidity range of PEMFCs and improves the performance under different humidity conditions. Precisely, the maximum power density of a single‐cell assembled by sfMPL (with optimised 10 wt.% binder content and 1.0 g pore‐forming agent) is 754 mW cm −2 at 40% relative humidity, which is 36.6% higher than that with conventional GDL (552 mW cm −2 ). Furthermore, the sfMPL shows outstanding stability after high potential oxidation (1.6 V vs RHE). Our results highlight a promising new class of low‐cost, substrate‐free MPL for PEMFCs and provide a basis for future research on substrate‐free MPL. Abstract : sfMPL is prepared by a dry‐press method with the advantages of operational simplicity, solvent‐free, and excellent reproducibility. Benefiting from a suitable pore size distribution, sfMPL broadens the useable humidity range for PEMFC. The optimized sfMPL‐2 delivered improved single‐cell performance compared with C‐GDL at all humidity ranges.