Effect of titanium powder loading in gas diffusion layer of a polymer electrolyte unitized reversible fuel cell

JOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES

卷:202

Article

Hwang, Chul Min²  Ishida, Masayoshi²  Ito, Hiroshi¹  Maeda, Tetsuhiko¹  Nakano, Akihiro¹  Kato, Atsushi³  Yoshida, Tetsuya⁴ 

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

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

[3] Takasago Thermal Engn Co Ltd, Atsugi, Kanagawa 2430213, Japan

[4] Daiki Ataka Engn Co Ltd, Kashiwa, Chiba 2778515, Japan

关键词: Proton exchange membrane;    Reversible fuel cell;    Gas diffusion layer;    Water management;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jpowsour.2011.11.041

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Polymer electrolyte-based unitized reversible fuel cells (URFCs) can be operated either as an electrolyzer to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using electric power or as a fuel cell to supply electric power when fed hydrogen and oxygen or air. In a URFC, titanium (Ti)-felt is used as a gas diffusion layer (GDL) in the oxygen electrode and typical carbon paper is used as a GDL in the hydrogen electrode. Here, first, Ti-powder was loaded into the Ti-felt GDL in URFCs to produce an effective pore distribution for water management in the membrane. Then, the effect of this Ti-powder loading on the cell performance was examined for both fuel cell and electrolysis operations. Experimental results revealed that the Ti-powder loading significantly improved the fuel cell performance under fully humidified conditions (relative humidity (RH) = 100%), but not under relatively dry conditions (RH = 66%). In contrast, the Ti-powder loading had no effect on the electrolysis performance. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free