Eliminating micro-porous layer from gas diffusion electrode for use in high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

In this work, we report a simple strategy to improve the performance of high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) by eliminating the micro-porous layer (MPL) from its gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs). Due to the absence of liquid water and the general use of high amount of ca...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of power sources 2017-02, Vol.341, p.302-308
Main Authors: Su, Huaneng, Xu, Qian, Chong, Junjie, Li, Huaming, Sita, Cordellia, Pasupathi, Sivakumar
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Catalyst layer
Gas diffusion electrode
High temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell
Membrane electrode assembly
Micro-porous layer
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In this work, we report a simple strategy to improve the performance of high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) by eliminating the micro-porous layer (MPL) from its gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs). Due to the absence of liquid water and the general use of high amount of catalyst, the MPL in a HT-PEMFC system works limitedly. Contrarily, the elimination of the MPL leads to an interlaced micropore/macropore composited structure in the catalyst layer (CL), which favors gas transport and catalyst utilization, resulting in a greatly improved single cell performance. At the normal working voltage (0.6 V), the current density of the GDE eliminated MPL reaches 0.29 A cm−2, and a maximum power density of 0.54 W cm−2 at 0.36 V is obtained, which are comparable to the best results yet reported for the HT-PEMFCs with similar Pt loading and operated using air. Furthermore, the MPL-free GDE maintains an excellent durability during a preliminary 1400 h HT-PEMFC operation, owing to its structure advantages, indicating the feasibility of this electrode for practical applications. [Display omitted] •A simple MPL-free GDE is developed for HT-PEMFC application.•A micropore/macropore composited CL structure is formed by eliminating MPL.•The MPL-free GDE allows easy transports of electrons and gases.•Good CL/membrane interfacial contact is still maintained with the MPL-free GDE.•The MPL-free GDE exhibits a high performance and durability for HT-PEMFC operation.
ISSN:0378-7753
1873-2755
DOI:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2016.12.029