Polymer electrolyte fuel cells employing electrodes with gas-diffusion layers of mesoporous carbon derived from a sol-gel route

Sahu, AK and Nishanth, KG and Selvarani, G and Sridhar, P and Pitchumani, S and Shukla, AK (2009) Polymer electrolyte fuel cells employing electrodes with gas-diffusion layers of mesoporous carbon derived from a sol-gel route. In: Carbon, 47 (01). pp. 102-108.

PDF Polymer_electrolyte.pdf - Published Version Restricted to Registered users only Download (534kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

Sol-gel derived mesoporous carbon (MC) for the preparation of gas-diffusion layer (GDL) and its ameliorating effect on the performance of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) is reported. MC with a specific surface area of 370 m(2)/g, pore diameter of 6.7 nm and pore volume of 0.45 cm(3)/g has been synthesized by co-assembly of a tri-block copolymer, namely pluronic-F127, as a structure directing agent, and a mixture of phloroglucinol and formaldehyde as carbon precursor. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy have been employed to examine the structural properties of the MC. Surface morphology of the GDL comprising MC has been studied by scanning electron microscopy. A peak power density of 0.53 W/cm(2) at a load current-density of 1.1 A/cm(2) is achieved for the PEFC employing electrodes with GDL of MC compared to the peak power density of 0.47 W/cm(2) at a load current-density of 0.93 A/cm(2) for the PEFC employing electrodes with GDL of commercial Vulcan XC-72R carbon, while operating at 70 degrees C with H-2 and air feeds at atmospheric pressure

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Carbon
Publisher:	Elsevier Science
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to Elsevier Science.
Department/Centre:	Division of Chemical Sciences > Solid State & Structural Chemistry Unit
Date Deposited:	03 Dec 2009 10:21
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 05:25
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/18750

Actions (login required)

View Item