Effect of diffusion-layer porosity on the performance of polymer electrolyte fuel cells

Selvarani, G and Sahu, AK and Sridhar, P and Pitchumani, S and Shukla, AK (2008) Effect of diffusion-layer porosity on the performance of polymer electrolyte fuel cells. In: Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, 38 (3). pp. 357-362.

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Abstract

The gas-diffusion layer (GDL) influences the performance of electrodes employed with polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). A simple and effective method for incorporating a porous structure in the electrode GDL using sucrose as the pore former is reported. Optimal (50 w/o) incorporation of a pore former in the electrode GDL facilitates the access of the gaseous reactants to the catalyst sites and improves the fuel cell performance. Data obtained from permeability and porosity measurements, single-cell performance, and impedance spectroscopy suggest that an optimal porosity helps mitigating mass-polarization losses in the fuel cell resulting in a substantially enhanced performance.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Journal of Applied Electrochemistry
Publisher:	Springer
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to Springer.
Keywords:	Gas;diffusion layer;Mass transport;PEFC;Pore ormer;Porosity.
Department/Centre:	Division of Chemical Sciences > Solid State & Structural Chemistry Unit
Date Deposited:	04 Jun 2010 06:48
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 05:56
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/26174

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