A review of the gas diffusion layer in proton exchange membrane fuel cells: Durability and degradation

Park, Jae-Man; Oh, Hwanyeong; Ha, Taehun; Lee, Jeongwoo; Min, Kyoungdoug

doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.06.068

Cited by 273 publications

(123 citation statements)

References 82 publications

(122 reference statements)

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“…38 While several studies reported in the literature addressed GDL focused on mechanical degradation 39,40 and few studies on chemical degradation, [41][42][43] no study has focused on thermal degradation. In standard materials composed of carbon fibers and the polymer coating the consequences are less critical at the given temperature range (slightly above the glass transition point).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advanced Water Management in PEFCs: Diffusion Layers with Patterned Wettability

Forner‐Cuenca

Manzi-Orezzoli

Biesdorf

et al. 2016

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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A novel type of fuel cell gas diffusion layer with patterned wettability is herein reported. The production of hydrophilic patterns by radiation grafting depends on two main steps: electron beam activation and polymerization reaction. In this first part of the series, we are giving extensive details about the synthetic routes for modifying porous media's wettability. Two monomers (acrylic acid and N-vinylformamide) were used for the hydrophilization of the fluoropolymer and a parametric study was performed. Finally, a preliminary thermal degradation study was carried out. We found conditions to produce hydrophilic gas diffusion layers with short reaction times (about 10 minutes) and proved that the synthetic method is suitable for creating local modifications. For hydrophilic surfaces, the coating load significantly impacts wetting dynamics.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advanced Water Management in PEFCs: Diffusion Layers with Patterned Wettability

Forner‐Cuenca

Manzi-Orezzoli

Biesdorf

et al. 2016

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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“…On the other hand, adding large weight percentages of PTFE reduces the porosity of the gas diffusion media (Rashapov et al, 2015), which results in difficulties for reactants transportation and higher electrical and thermal contact resistances. Additionally, the surface coating changes the surface properties of the fibers affecting pressure losses in the media or degradation (Kumar et al, 2012;Park et al, 2015;Yu et al, 2014). Thus, an optimal PTFE loading should be used to improve performance of the cell (Fishman and Bazylak, 2011;LaManna and Kandlikar, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transport characteristics of saturated gas diffusion layers treated with hydrophobic coatings

Moosavi

Niffeler

Gostick

et al. 2018

Chemical Engineering Science

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“…The decrease in the contact angle of the GDL indicates that the hydrophobicity of the GDL is lowered. Reduced hydrophobicity of the GDL can lead to water management failure, which reduces the performance of PEMFCs . Water management failure easily leads to flooding.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid degradation characteristics of an air‐cooled PEMFC stack

et al. 2020

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Summary Durability is one of the obstacles to the large‐scale commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stacks. Understanding its decay behavior is a prerequisite for improving durability. In this study, rapid degradation characteristics of an air‐cooled PEMFC stack are investigated. Due to the simultaneous presence of various degradation sources, the maximum power of the PEMFC stack has been reduced by 39.6% after just 74.6 h of operations. Performance degradation characteristics are sought by analyzing the cell voltage, temperature distribution, ion chromatography, and surface morphology of the gas diffusion layer. The result shows that abnormal cell voltage and temperature distribution can reflect the problematic location. The fluoride ion emission rate is 0.111 mg/day, which proves that the membrane has been seriously degraded. Contact angle reduction and impurities attached to the surface of the gas diffusion layer lead to the water management failure. It is also found that the main factor for performance degradation could be different under different current conditions. And more information can be found under higher current conditions during monitoring the decay of PEMFCs. This study helps to deepen the understanding of performance degradation characteristics.

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A review of the gas diffusion layer in proton exchange membrane fuel cells: Durability and degradation

Cited by 273 publications

References 82 publications

Advanced Water Management in PEFCs: Diffusion Layers with Patterned Wettability

Advanced Water Management in PEFCs: Diffusion Layers with Patterned Wettability

Transport characteristics of saturated gas diffusion layers treated with hydrophobic coatings

Rapid degradation characteristics of an air‐cooled PEMFC stack

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