Membrane electrode assembly degradation by dry/wet gas on a PEM fuel cell

Multiple Degradation Phenomena in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Operation With Dead-Ended Anode

“…Catalyst layer/membrane delamination is also observed at some spots. Such degradation may be associated with the mechanical stress induced degradation [14,24] and uneven current distribution. at 0.001 mΩ min −1 when the cell is applied 0.4A cm −2 load, whereas at 0.025 mΩ min −1 when applied 0.8A cm −2 load.…”

“…Such degradation may be more severe under high temperature and low RH [11][12][13]. Furthermore, when PEFC operates under dry/wet or freeze/thaw cycles, the induced mechanical stress normally is detrimental to the membrane durability [14,15]. Also, the membrane areas corresponding to the land/channel edge and sealing edge are subject to additional stress and therefore small tears or perforation [16].…”

Accelerated stress test procedures for PEM fuel cells under actual load constraints: State-of-art and proposals

“…It is worth noting that if Bae et al (2010) is an important reference in fuel cell AST protocols' development, the first standard AST procedure aimed to PEMFC lifetime prediction was proposed by the same authors [1] only in 2012. Nevertheless, during this period (2010e2012), others interesting works concerning RH cycling and on/off conditions can be i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y x x x ( 2 0 1 5 ) 1 e1 7 found in literature [8,12,14,26]. In 2010 Kang and Kim [14] performed dry/wet gas cycling to study the MEA degradations under start-up/shut down condition in vehicle applications.…”

“…Nevertheless, during this period (2010e2012), others interesting works concerning RH cycling and on/off conditions can be i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y x x x ( 2 0 1 5 ) 1 e1 7 found in literature [8,12,14,26]. In 2010 Kang and Kim [14] performed dry/wet gas cycling to study the MEA degradations under start-up/shut down condition in vehicle applications. The RH cycling effects were then analysed resulting in about 50% of performance reduction.…”

“…In particular high temperature (HT) combined with high relative humidity (HRH) and sudden load variations affect the catalyst, while low relative humidity (LRH) combined with high voltage (HV) and improper start and stop procedures mainly accelerate the carbon corrosion [2e6]. Thus, improper start and stop and hydrothermal cycles can severely affect both the catalyst layer and the catalyst/electrolyte interface region [1,6,8,14], playing an important role in the electrochemical surface area (ECSA) reduction. Subsequently, the dissolved and corroded particles can migrate from the catalyst layer affecting both the membrane and the GDL properties.…”