Abstract
Acid-doped polybenzimidazole (PBI) membrane and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-based electrodes are used for the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) in high-temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cells (HTPEFCs). To find the optimum PTFE content for the catalyst layer, the PTFE ratio in the electrodes is varied from 25 to 50 wt%. To improve the performance of the electrodes, PBI is added to the catalyst layer. With a weight ratio of PTFE to Pt/C of 45:55 (45 wt% PTFE in the catalyst layer), the fuel cell shows good performance at 150 °C under non-humidified conditions. When 5 wt% PBI is added to the electrodes, performance is further improved (250 mA cm-2 at 0.6 V). Our 20 W class HTPEFC stack is fabricated with a novel MEA. This MEA consists of 8 layers (1 phosphoric acid-doped PBI membrane, 2 electrodes, 1 sub-gasket, 2 gas-diffusion media, 2 gas-sealing gaskets). The sub-gasket mitigates the destruction of a highly acid-doped PBI membrane and provides long-term durability to the fuel cell stack. The stack operates for 1200 h without noticeable cell degradation.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 5521-5526 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | International Journal of Hydrogen Energy |
Volume | 36 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2011 May |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by the New and Renewable Energy R&D Program (2008-N-FC12-J-01-2-100), and a grant ( M2009010025 ) from the Fundamental R&D Program for Core Technology of Materials funded by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE), Republic of Korea .
Keywords
- Fuel cell stack
- High-temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cell
- Membrane electrolyte assembly
- Phosphoric acid-doped polybenzimidazole
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
- Fuel Technology
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Energy Engineering and Power Technology