Influences of hydrogen evolution on the cell and stack performances of the direct borohydride fuel cell

Abstract

To scale up power generation of the direct borohydride fuel cell (DBFC), 10-cell and 20-cell stacks have been constructed based on the single cell achievements. It has been found that the stacking loss of the DBFC is mainly caused by hydrogen evolution which leads to uneven fuel distribution in each cell of the stack. To reduce stacking loss, several efforts have been made to decrease hydrogen evolution influence on the stack performance. The anode preparation method has been modified from a dry-method to a wet-method. The influence of hydrogen evolution on stack performance can be alleviated by altering fuel supply manner. When hydrogen evolution is suppressed, an even distribution of cell voltage can be obtained and the maximum power of 10-cell stack reaches up to 229 W.