Effects of high-temperature operating conditions on the through-plane gas permeability of gas diffusion layers used in PEFCs

Raja Muhammad Aslam Raja Arif

doi:10.24191/jaeds.v1i1.3

Abstract

In order to simulate the effects of high-temperature operating conditions on the through-plane gas permeability of gas diffusion layers (GDLs) used in polymer electrolyte fuel cells, uncoated and coated GDLs were heated at various temperatures (i.e. 200, 500 and 800 °C). The results show that the through-plane gas permeability of the uncoated GDLs generally increases after higher temperature treatment. However, the coated GDL displays a different trend: the through-plane gas permeability increases with increasing temperature treatment to 200 and 500 °C, but then decreases after heat treatment at 800 and 1000 °C. With the assistance of SEM images, the above results are discussed.

Highlights

The polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) is the most-researched and promising type of fuel cell, due to some appealing features such as high efficiency and power density, low operation temperature, and quick start-up [12]
The mean values lie within the margin of errors The results showed that the throughplane gas permeability of the tested carbon substrates materials generally increases as the temperature increases from room temperature to 800 °C
This does not appear to be the case for the microporous layer (MPL)-coated gas diffusion layers (GDLs), where the permeability increases from room temperature to 500 °C, and decreases at 800 °C

Summary

Introduction

The polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) is the most-researched and promising type of fuel cell, due to some appealing features such as high efficiency and power density, low operation temperature, and quick start-up [12]. The through-plane gas permeability of the GDL samples is estimated before and after being heated for one hour at the temperatures of 200, 500 and 800 °C.

Results

Conclusion