>> The organic-inorganic composite membrane in polymer exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have several fascinating technological advantages such as a proton conductivity, thermal stability and mechanical properties. As the inorganic filler, silicon carbide (SiC) fiber have been used in various fields due to its unique properties such as thermal stability, conductivity, and tensile strength. In this study, composite membrane was successfully fabricated by modified-silicon carbide fiber. Modified process, as a novel process in SiC, takes reaction by phosphoric acid after oxidation process (generated homogeniusly SiO2 layer on SiC fiber). The mechanical property which was conducted by tensile test of the 5wt% modified-SiO2@SiCf composite membrane was better than that of Aquivion casting membrane as well as ion cxchange capacity(IEC) and proton conductivity. In addition, the single cell performance was observed that the 5wt% modified-SiO2@SiCf composite membrane was approximately 0.2A/cm 2 higher than that of a Aquivion casting electrolyte membrane and electrochemical impedance was improved with the charge transfer resistance and membrane resistance.
>> Polymer exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells have multifunctional properties, and bipolar plates are one of the key components in these fuel cells. Generally, a bipolar plate has a gas flow path for hydrogen and oxygen liberated at the anode and cathode, respectively. In this study, the influence of iodine applied to a bipolar plate was investigated. Accordingly, we compared bipolar plates with and without iodine coating, and the performances of these plates were evaluated under operating conditions of 75 o C and 100% relative humidity. The membrane and platinum-carbon layer were affected by the iodine-coated bipolar plate. Bipolar plates coated with iodine and a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) were investigated by electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. Polarization curves showed that the performance of a coated bipolar plate is approximately 19% higher than that of a plate without coating. Moreover, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis revealed that charge transfer resistance and membrane resistance decreased with the influence of the iodine charge transfer complex for fuel cells on the performance.
>> Carbon materials are mainly used as catalyst supports for polymer exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Catalyst supports are required specific characteristics of the carbon materials, such as large surface area and high electrical conductivity. Attempted were to improve electrical conductivity and to maintain high surface area of carbon materials using a microwave treatment. Microwave treatment, as a relatively new technique, takes short reaction time and reduce the consumption of the gases used for carbon treatment compared to a traditional heat treatment. Hybrid carbon (ACF/Graphene) as catalyst supports by microwave-irradiation method for PEMFC increase the cell performance because of increased electrical conductivity resulting in triple-phase contact and reduced the interfacial resistance. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) were employed to analyze carbon materials. The performance of microwave-treated carbon materials was evaluated by measuring current-voltage (I-V) characteristics and electrode impedance.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citationsโcitations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.