Alternative architectures and materials for PEMFC gas diffusion layers: A review and outlook

Lee, F.C.; Ismail, M.S.; Ingham, D.B.; Hughes, Kevin J.; Ma, Lin; Lyth, Stephen M.; Pourkashanian, Mohamed

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2022.112640

Cited by 63 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 207 publications

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“…The low permeability of the GDL leads to higher gas pressure gradients which leads to higher water saturation in the cathode GDLs and potentially undesirable water flooding phenomena particularly at the cathode side [3,18,[86][87][88][89][90][91]. Furthermore, the high gas permeability increases the convective flow, which translates into an increased amount of the reacting gas supplied to the catalyst layer and ultimately better fuel cell performance [8,12,[92][93][94][95][96][97][98]. Therefore, it is always desirable for the GDL materials to demonstrate high permeability values.…”

Section: Mass Transport Properties 241 Gas Permeabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficient X-ray CT-based numerical computations of structural and mass transport properties of nickel foam-based GDLs for PEFCs

Ercelik

Ismail

Ingham

et al. 2023

Energy

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Section: Mass Transport Properties 241 Gas Permeabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficient X-ray CT-based numerical computations of structural and mass transport properties of nickel foam-based GDLs for PEFCs

Ercelik

Ismail

Ingham

et al. 2023

Energy

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“…So far, a wide range of topics related to the PEMFC has been covered by recent reviews, mostly relating to the characterization methods of the catalyst layer (CL) [49] and gas-diffusion layer (GDL) [50]. Arif et al [51] presented different types of developed models, ranging from one-dimensional to three-dimensional, to simulate PEMFCs; however, their review mostly covered existing models rather than a systematic approach to model degradation in PEMFCs.…”

Section: Novelties Of the Current Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review on the Long-Term Performance of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: From Degradation Modeling to the Effects of Bipolar Plates, Sealings, and Contaminants

et al. 2022

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Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are regarded as promising alternatives to internal combustion engines (ICEs) to reduce pollution. Recent research on PEMFCs focuses on achieving higher power densities, reducing the refueling time, mitigating the final price, and decreasing the degradations, to facilitate the commercialization of hydrogen mobility. The design of bipolar plates and compression kits, in addition to their coating, can effectively improve performance, increase durability, and support water/thermal management. Past reviews usually focused on the specific aspect, which can hardly provide readers with a complete picture of the key challenges facing and advances in the long-term performance of PEMFCs. This paper aims to deliver a comprehensive source to review, from both experimental, analytical and numerical viewpoints, design challenges, degradation modeling, protective coatings for bipolar plates, and key operational challenges facing and solutions to the stack to prevent contamination. The significant research gaps in the long-term performance of PEMFCs are identified as (1) improved bipolar-plate design and coating, (2) the optimization of the design of sealing and compression kits to reduce mechanical stresses, and (3) stack degradation regarding fuel contamination and dynamic operation.

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“…With low pollution, high efficiency, and low noise, proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) technology demonstrates promising application potential for the construction of a green and low-carbon world. − A typical PEMFC is mainly composed of bipolar plates, gas diffusion layers (GDLs), catalyst layers (CLs), and proton exchange membranes (PEMs). The bipolar plates play the roles of collecting current, dissipating heat, and distributing the reactant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biased Expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene Reinforced Composite Membranes with Naturally Formed 3D Surface Structures for High-Performance Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Liu

Xing

et al. 2023

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

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As a crucial factor dictating the power performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells, the interface combination between the proton exchange membrane and the catalyst layer should be considered seriously. Herein, we propose a facile interface optimization strategy in which an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) skeleton layer is biasedly embedded on the surface of the perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membrane bulk to form three-dimensional surface structures naturally. The experimental results show that the biased ePTFE-reinforced membranes (BRMs) demonstrate significantly enhanced surface roughness compared with conventional central ePTFE-reinforced membranes (CRMs), thus providing an enlarged cathode membrane/catalyst layer contact area. With optimized membrane/catalyst layer interface bonding, the fuel cells equipped with BRM1 and BRM2 (ionomer concentrations of 10 and 20 wt %, respectively) exhibit markedly reduced interfacial resistance, increased electrochemical surface area, and improved power performance compared with conventional CRMs. Furthermore, this biased reinforcing process does not weaken the mechanical reinforcing and dimension constraint function of ePTFE skeletons in PFSA membranes. Instead, the BRM membranes demonstrate the same level of mechanical properties, swelling rates, and hydrogen crossover as CRM membranes. After the wet/dry cycle test, BRM1 exhibits less mechanical degradation than CRMs due to enhanced interface bonding, reflected in lower hydrogen crossover and interfacial resistance increase.

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Alternative architectures and materials for PEMFC gas diffusion layers: A review and outlook

Cited by 63 publications

References 207 publications

Efficient X-ray CT-based numerical computations of structural and mass transport properties of nickel foam-based GDLs for PEFCs

Efficient X-ray CT-based numerical computations of structural and mass transport properties of nickel foam-based GDLs for PEFCs

A Review on the Long-Term Performance of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: From Degradation Modeling to the Effects of Bipolar Plates, Sealings, and Contaminants

Biased Expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene Reinforced Composite Membranes with Naturally Formed 3D Surface Structures for High-Performance Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

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