A New Membrane Electrode Assembly Structure with Novel Flow Fields for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Membrane Electrode Assembly ◽  
Flow Fields ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells ◽  
Membrane Electrode ◽  
Assembly Structure

Development and Application of a Sample Holder for In Situ Gaseous TEM Studies of Membrane Electrode Assemblies for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 945-950 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeo Kamino ◽  
Toshie Yaguchi ◽  
Takahiro Shimizu
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Membrane Electrode Assembly ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell ◽  
Membrane Electrode ◽  
Sample Holder ◽  
Electrode Assemblies

AbstractPolymer electrolyte fuel cells hold great potential for stationary and mobile applications due to high power density and low operating temperature. However, the structural changes during electrochemical reactions are not well understood. In this article, we detail the development of the sample holder equipped with gas injectors and electric conductors and its application to a membrane electrode assembly of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell. Hydrogen and oxygen gases were simultaneously sprayed on the surfaces of the anode and cathode catalysts of the membrane electrode assembly sample, respectively, and observation of the structural changes in the catalysts were simultaneously carried out along with measurement of the generated voltages.

New Conceptual Gas Distributor With Mass Transfer Enhancing Function in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. W. Li ◽  
S. P. Chen ◽  
M. K. Chyu
Keyword(s):  
Mass Transfer ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Gas Flow ◽  
Flow Fields ◽  
Pem Fuel Cells ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Membrane Electrode ◽  
Sharp Drop

A new conceptual structure of the gas distributors in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC) or proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells is developed in this work. Basically, instead of partitioned channels and non-interrupted walls, the proposed new gas distributors make use of discretized elements as the current collector in the flow fields, which can help to enhance the mass transfer in the gas flow fields while maintaining the function of transmitting current out of the fuel cell. Experimental operation without external humidification of the reactant gases for single PEM fuel cells and cell stacks using conventional and the currently presented gas distributors were conducted for comparison and verification. It was found that the maximum operational cell current, beyond which there is a sharp drop of the cell voltage, could be significantly improved when using the currently proposed gas distributors and the same membrane-electrode-assembly (MEA) sheets. Correspondingly, the output electrical power can have at least 11 percent increment for the operation with free-convective airflow and around 50 percent increment for the operation with forced convective airflow.

scholarly journals Investigation of Nanographene Produced by In-Liquid Plasma for Development of Highly Durable Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladislav Gamaleev ◽  
Kengo Kajikawa ◽  
Keigo Takeda ◽  
Mineo Hiramatsu
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Amorphous Carbon ◽  
Carbon Nanostructures ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells ◽  
Membrane Electrode ◽  
Catalytic Layer ◽  
Pt Nanoparticle ◽  
Durable Polymer

Recently, polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) are attracting a lot of attention owing to their small size and relatively low working temperature (below 80 °C), which enables their usage in automobiles and household power generation. However, PEFCs have a problem with decreased output caused by corrosion of amorphous carbon, which is commonly used as a catalytic carrier. This problem could be solved by the usage of carbon nanostructures with a stronger crystal structure than amorphous carbon. In this work, nanographene supported by Pt nanoparticles was synthesized and examined for possible applications in the development of PEFCs with increased durability. Nanographene was synthesized by in-liquid plasma generated in ethanol using alternating current (AC) high voltage. A membrane electrode assembly (MEA) was constructed, where Pt nanoparticle-supported nanographene was used as the catalytic layer. Power generation characteristics of the MEA were evaluated and current density for the developed MEA was found to be approximately 240 mA/cm2. From the electrochemical evaluation, it was found that the durability of Pt nanoparticle-supported nanographene was about seven times higher than that of carbon black.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document