Mechanical failure and mitigation strategies for the membrane in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Qiu, Diankai; Peng, Linfa; Lai, Xinmin; Ni, Meng; Lehnert, Werner

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2019.109289

Cited by 118 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 247 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…ρ = E 0 3d;RT Crosslinking density is represented as ρ, the modulus as E', the membrane density as d, the front factor as ϕ which is taken to be unity, while R and T are the universal gas constant and the absolute temperature respectively. Qiu et al 111 evaluated mechanical property through the amount of deformation of the membrane at various loadings, which eventually reporting its stress-strain behavior. This way of evaluation is valid for particular materials that analyzing the stressstrain curves using the elastic modulus, yield stress, ultimate tensile strength, and final strain.…”

Section: Mechanical Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon nanotube, graphene oxide and montmorillonite as conductive fillers in polymer electrolyte membrane for fuel cell: an overview

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Summary This study discusses three conductive materials—carbon nanotube, graphene oxide, and montmorillonite which recently being used as fillers in membranes of fuel cell application and commonly hybridized with polymers as the matrix. The polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is using a polymer‐based membrane as the electrolyte, which might require filler or functionalization to enhance their cell performance. This review provides brief information for the researcher who insists on improving the current PEM using these potential fillers, specified with required values of membrane properties measurement. It also entails the special features of the nanofillers concerning their chemical structure and electrochemical properties based on recent studies. As electricity is generated from an external fuel source, the membranes that are used should be more than 0.1 S/cm of proton conductivity, low fuel permeability (< 1.37 x 10−6 cm2/s), cheap, and high stability in dry and wet condition. PEM is widely being utilized together with filler(s) incorporated as a purpose to overcome recent drawbacks encountered by the commercial Nafion membrane solely. Hence, the fillers embedded in the membrane are necessarily to have the promising characteristics, acknowledging the potential performances of three conductive nanofillers of (a) carbon nanotubes which is well‐known of its electrical conducting potential with three cylindrical design, (b) graphene oxide which is a reactive carbonaceous material with its multifunctional groups and (c) montmorillonite which is one of the clay types that has tetrahedral and octahedral layers of alumina‐silicates for producing better hybrid polymer electrolyte membrane. Highlights Carbon nanotube, graphene oxide, and montmorillonite are highly promising conductive fillers with outstanding cell performances based on previous studies. Carbon nanotube, graphene oxide, and montmorillonite are chosen as incorporated fillers recently due to their rolling up direction (chirality vector of graphene sheet), reactive functional groups attached on the carbon atoms and ionic multilayers of the tetrahedral and octahedral sheet, respectively. High proton conductivity, low electronic conductivity, low fuel permeability, low water transport, low production cost, and high mechanical stability in both dry and wet condition are properties that should be portrayed by a good hybrid membrane.

show abstract

Section: Mechanical Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon nanotube, graphene oxide and montmorillonite as conductive fillers in polymer electrolyte membrane for fuel cell: an overview

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As the most popular PEMs in PEMFCs, perfluorosulfonic acid (PSFA) membranes, particularly Nafion (Dupont Co.), are widely used by virtue of their favorable conductivity and suitable mechanical strength. , Nevertheless, this type of membrane suffers from critical mechanical and chemical degradations during long-term service. ,, Their chemical failure is mainly manifested through membrane thinning attributed to the ionomer exposure in severe radical environments [hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), hydroxyl (HO*), and hydroperoxyl (HOO*)]. ,− The attenuation of membrane thickness may result in a reduction in functional sulfonic groups and the exacerbation of reactant crossover, ultimately resulting in performance degradation of the fuel cells. ,, In contrast, their mechanical failure is predominantly reflected by the structural deterioration of the PSFA membrane (e.g., cracks, wrinkles, pinholes, and tears). ,, A major contributing factor causing mechanical failure is the excessive repeated swelling and shrinking of the membranes under humidity cycling conditions. ,, This phenomenon can be attributed to the inferior dimensional stability of PSFA ionomers under alternating dry and wet atmospheres, and it results in irreversible defects in the membrane bulk …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reinforced Composite Membranes Based on Expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene Skeletons Modified by a Surface Sol–Gel Process for Fuel Cell Applications

Liu

Qiao

et al. 2021

Energy Fuels

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Intercalating expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) reinforcements and incorporating antioxidants (e.g., CeO2 and ZrO2) into perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomers are typical methods used to improve the physical and chemical durability of PFSA-based proton exchange membranes, respectively. Nevertheless, these two popular methods still suffer from respective inherent limitations, including the poor interfacial binding between hydrophobic ePTFE and polar PFSA ionomers and the migration and loss of incorporated antioxidants. To solve these two issues simultaneously, we propose a solution based on a surface sol–gel process, by which the deposition of ZrO2 coating on polydopamine-modified ePTFE skeletons not only improves the interfacial bonding of the skeletons and PFSA ionomer but also restrains the migration and loss of antioxidant additives. The results show that the ZrO2-deposited ePTFE exhibits improved hydrophilicity and the reinforced composite membranes based on the modified ePTFE skeletons with one layer of ZrO2 coating are endowed with superior proton conductivity, mechanical properties, dimensional stability, and open-circuit voltage durability. In addition, the stability of the ZrO2 coating on the ePTFE skeletons is also verified.

show abstract

“…It is well recognized that the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) is the key material for the development of PEMFC system which can ideally possess not only high electrochemical performances but also long lifetime. The PEM materials should easily carry the protons generated by the hydrogen oxidation reaction at the anode to the cathode, while also serving as a good barrier to prevent the mixing of hydrogen and oxygen gases, which should be supplied the anode and cathode sides separately [ 2 , 3 ]. Furthermore, an ideal PEM should have high mechanical toughness under various conditions (e.g., temperature, humidity, pressure, and/or chemical composition of fuel gases) where wide variations may occur during the operation of FCEVs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic Mechanical Fatigue Behavior of Polymer Electrolyte Membranes for Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles Using a Gas Pressure-Loaded Blister

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study reports on an innovative press-loaded blister hybrid system equipped with gas-chromatography (PBS-GC) that is designed to evaluate the mechanical fatigue of two representative types of commercial Nafion membranes under relevant PEMFC operating conditions (e.g., simultaneously controlling temperature and humidity). The influences of various applied pressures (50 kPa, 100 kPa, etc.) and blistering gas types (hydrogen, oxygen, etc.) on the mechanical resistance loss are systematically investigated. The results evidently indicate that hydrogen gas is a more effective blistering gas for inducing dynamic mechanical losses of PEM. The changes in proton conductivity are also measured before and after hydrogen gas pressure-loaded blistering. After performing the mechanical aging test, a decrease in proton conductivity was confirmed, which was also interpreted using small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) analysis. Finally, an accelerated dynamic mechanical aging test is performed using the homemade PBS-GC system, where the hydrogen permeability rate increases significantly when the membrane is pressure-loaded blistering for 10 min, suggesting notable mechanical fatigue of the PEM. In summary, this PBS-GC system developed in-house clearly demonstrates its capability of screening and characterizing various membrane candidates in a relatively short period of time (<1.5 h at 50 kPa versus 200 h).

show abstract

Mechanical failure and mitigation strategies for the membrane in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Cited by 118 publications

References 247 publications

Carbon nanotube, graphene oxide and montmorillonite as conductive fillers in polymer electrolyte membrane for fuel cell: an overview

Carbon nanotube, graphene oxide and montmorillonite as conductive fillers in polymer electrolyte membrane for fuel cell: an overview

Reinforced Composite Membranes Based on Expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene Skeletons Modified by a Surface Sol–Gel Process for Fuel Cell Applications

Dynamic Mechanical Fatigue Behavior of Polymer Electrolyte Membranes for Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles Using a Gas Pressure-Loaded Blister

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About