Pt/C Modified Proton Exchange Membrane for Improved Fuel Cell Performance

Authors

Zhi CUI, Institute of Fuel Cells, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China;
Chao WANG, Institute of Fuel Cells, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China;
Shui-yun SHEN, Institute of Fuel Cells, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China;
Feng-jing JIANG, Institute of Fuel Cells, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China;
Jun-liang ZHANG, Institute of Fuel Cells, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China;Follow

Corresponding Author

Jun-liang ZHANG(junliang.zhang@sjtu.edu.cn)

Abstract

The property of proton exchange membrane greatly affects the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). During the operation of a PEMFC, the water produced at the cathode, the water vapor from the humidified feed gas and the water migrated by electro-dragging will reach a balance in the membrane and determine the resistance of PEMFC, and thus affect the performance of PEMFC. Normally, the PEMFC performance strongly depends on the relative humidity of the feed gas, and the performance decreases at lower humidity as a result of lower proton conductivity of the membrane. In this paper, we proposed to employ a Pt/C modified proton exchange membrane by promoting the H₂ and O₂ (that diffuse into the membrane from the feed gases) reactions in the membrane to produce water locally, and consequently improving the water content in the membrane. The AC resistance and water sorption property of the membrane, the performance and high frequency resistance of the cell prepared with home-made membrane were investigated in detail. It is found that the Ohmic resistance of the membrane was decreased under the same operation conditions and the PEMFC performance was greatly improved.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords

proton exchange membrane, PEMFC performance, relative humidity, high frequency resistance

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.13208/j.electrochem.141055

Publication Date

2015-06-28

Online Available Date

2015-06-28

Revised Date

2015-04-22

Received Date

2014-12-08

Recommended Citation

Zhi CUI, Chao WANG, Shui-yun SHEN, Feng-jing JIANG, Jun-liang ZHANG. Pt/C Modified Proton Exchange Membrane for Improved Fuel Cell Performance[J]. Journal of Electrochemistry, 2015 , 21(3): 273-278.
DOI: 10.13208/j.electrochem.141055
Available at: https://jelectrochem.xmu.edu.cn/journal/vol21/iss3/8