Effect of Resin Matrix Precursor on the Properties of Graphite Composite Bipolar Plate for PEM Fuel Cell

Abstract

A bipolar plate is one of the prime components of proton exchange membrane fuel cells, and advanced composite bipolar plates where a polymer is used as a binder and graphite is used as a major reinforcement are prepared by a compression molding technique. Study on the effect of different types of resin matrix on the properties of composite bipolar plates, such as bulk density, porosity, bulk conductivity, hardness, flexural strength, and so forth, shows that composites with different resin matrix precursors exhibit different physicomechanical properties. Moreover, in the case of resole- and novolak-based composites, a single-cell performance analysis shows variation in output power density. In this study, a novel concept of using triple continuous structure to provide graphite polymer blends with high electrical conductivity, high shore hardness, high flexural strength, less porosity, and low density has been proposed, and a study on the effect of different types of resins (epoxy resin, vinyl ester resin, and resole- and novolak-type phenolic resins) on the properties and performance of entire bipolar plates reveals that novolak-type powdered phenolic resin gives better mechanical properties than the other three types of resin. However, the resole-type phenolic resin-based composite has the highest electrical conductivity among the other three resin-based composites.