Abstract
This work compares titanium fibre felts and conventional carbon gas diffusion layers (GDLs), varying in thickness, as cathode GDLs for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) in terms of i) overall performance, ii) mass transport properties, and iii) water management. The study presents a comprehensive approach to understanding GDL properties which affect performance. Titanium fibre felts exhibit improved performance across thicknesses and operating conditions, and both GDL types exhibit optimised performance at a thickness of 400 μm. Greater porosity and pore size of titanium fibre felts contribute to greater air permeability than carbon GDLs. Ohmic resistance for titanium fibre felts remains low across thicknesses, indicating good electrical conductivity of the titanium substrate and good interfacial contact with the catalyst layer. In contrast, ohmic resistance for carbon GDLs is higher and sensitive to thickness. Finally, flooding resistance is optimised at 400 μm for both GDL types, consistent with the observed performance.
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