Changes in the wettability of polymer electrolyte fuel cells components during cationic contamination and mitigation

Journal Article · Tue Jul 18 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · International Journal of Hydrogen Energy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.06.052· OSTI ID:1533887

Park, Jaehyung ^[1]; Uddin, Md. Aman ^[1]; Pasaogullari, Ugur ^[1]; Bonville, Leonard ^[1]

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1. University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (United States)

Foreign cations are shown to cause mass transport losses, in particular due to wettability changes in the micro-porous layers (MPL) and the carbon paper substrate, and have a major impact on the durability and the performance of polymer electrolyte fuel cells. Here we studied the effects of cationic impurities on fuel cell system performance, especially on the water management by employing in-situ and ex-situ contamination methods. Changes in the wettability of the carbon paper surface following the in-situ contamination injection were quantified using the Wilhelmy plate method. The CaSO₄ precipitation on the macro-pores of the carbon paper substrate after the contamination injection causes a higher wettability leading to increased flooding of the carbon paper substrate and consequent mass transport losses. An ex-situ cleaning with an acid solution is shown to be very effective in removing the salt deposits of the carbon paper substrate. During the mitigation, the highly hydrophobic MPL acts as a barrier to the transport of the recovery solution into the membrane-electrode assembly (MEA), therefore isopropanol (IPA) was added to both the contaminant solution and the recovery solution to increase the wettability of the MPL. Wetting force measurements confirm that the added IPA can alter the wettability of the MPL and can render it fully hydrophilic, enabling the transport of the recovery solution into the MEA.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI (United States); Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
• Grant/Contract Number: EE0000467
• OSTI ID: 1533887
• Journal Information: International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 42, Issue 33; ISSN 0360-3199
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
polymer electrolyte fuel cell
cation contamination
wettability
force tensiometer
Wilhelmy plate method
gas diffusion media