Effect of through-plane polytetrafluoroethylene distribution in gas diffusion layers on performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells

JOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES

卷:306

Article

Ito, Hiroshi¹  Iwamura, Takuya¹  Someya, Satoshi¹  Munakata, Tetsuo¹  Nakano, Akihiro¹  Heo, Yun²  Ishida, Masayoshi²  Nakajima, Hironori³  Kitahara, Tatsumi³ 

[1] Natl Inst Adv Ind Sci & Technol, Res Inst Energy Conservat, 1-2-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 3058564, Japan

[2] Univ Tsukuba, Dept Engn Mech & Energy, 1-1-1 Tennoudai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 3058573, Japan

[3] Kyushu Univ, Dept Mech Engn, Nishi Ku, 744 Motooka, Fukuoka 8190395, Japan

关键词: Proton exchange membrane fuel cell;    Gas diffusion layer;    PTFE distribution;    Water breakthrough pressure;    Contact angle;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jpowsour.2015.12.020

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

This experimental study identifies the effect of through-plane polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) distribution in gas diffusion backing (GDB) on the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). PTFE-drying under vacuum pressure created a relatively uniform PTFE distribution in GDB compared to drying under atmospheric pressure. Carbon paper samples with different PTFE distributions due to the difference in drying conditions were prepared and used for the cathode gas diffusion layer (GDL) of PEMFCs. Also investigated is the effect of MPL application on the performance for those samples. The current density (i) - voltage (V) characteristics of these PEMFCs measured under high relative humidity conditions clearly showed that, with or without MPL, the cell using the GDL with PTFE dried under vacuum condition showed better performance than that dried under atmospheric condition. It is suggested that this improved performance is caused by the efficient transport of liquid water through the GDB due to the uniform distribution of PTFE. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

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