Development of a Current Collector with a Graphene Thin Film for a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Module.

Yean-Der Kuan,Jing-Shan Do,Jyun-Long Lyu,Min-Feng Sung,Ting-Ru Ke

doi:10.3390/molecules25040955

Abstract

This paper constructs planar-type graphene thin film current collectors for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The present planar-type current collector adopts FR-4 as the substrate and coats a copper thin film using thermal evaporation for the electric-conduction layer. A graphene thin film is then coated onto the current collector to prevent corrosion due to electrochemical reactions. Three different coating techniques are conducted and compared: Spin coating, RF magnetron sputtering, and screen printing. The corrosion rates and surface resistances are tested and compared for the different coating techniques. Single cell PEMFCs with the developed current collectors are assembled and tested. A PEMFC module with two cells is also designed and constructed. The cell performances are measured to investigate the device feasibility.

Highlights

The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEFMC) adopts hydrogen as its fuel, and the fuel energy is converted into electrical energy through an electrochemical reaction
The proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) Balance of Plant (BOP) consumption should be as low as possible; the PEMFC planar-type module could be more suitable than the conventional, vertical PEMFC stack, as it could omit the air fan or air-pump at the cathode side via the self-air breathing design, significantly reducing the device thickness
micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) techniques were applied in planar-type current collector fabrications, such as the metal lift-off process [3], metal powers deposition onto the wafer surface [4], coating gold-titanium and gold-nickel onto a stainless steel thin plate [5], coating Au onto 316L stainless steel mesh via electro-deposition [6], coating TiN, TiAlN mono-layers, and TiN/TiAlN bi-layers onto 316L stainless steel plates via the physical vapor deposition (PVD) process [7]

Summary

Introduction

The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEFMC) adopts hydrogen as its fuel, and the fuel energy is converted into electrical energy through an electrochemical reaction. MEMS techniques were applied in planar-type current collector fabrications, such as the metal lift-off process [3], metal powers deposition onto the wafer surface [4], coating gold-titanium and gold-nickel onto a stainless steel thin plate [5], coating Au onto 316L stainless steel mesh via electro-deposition [6], coating TiN, TiAlN mono-layers, and TiN/TiAlN bi-layers onto 316L stainless steel plates via the physical vapor deposition (PVD) process [7]. The application of MEMS techniques to fabricate micro channels for micro fuel cells was widely studied, including micro channel fabrication onto a silicon substrate [8], constructing micro channels and metallization onto a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) substrate [9], or adopting the electroforming process to make micro channels on a thin copper substrate [10]

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