Development of self humidifying membrane electrode assembly mea for proton exchange membrane pem based fuel cells

Abstract

Fuel cell is an energy conversion device that have been gaining more interest in the 21st century known due to their high efficiency and minimal emissions. The high energy demands arise due to the growing energy needs in daily life, the depletion of fossil fuels and the world wide concern about the environmental pollution. One of the main challenges that the society facing right now is that the availability of clean and effective energy sources. In recent years, the emerging low-temperature fuel cells like proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are considered as clean energy producing source due to their high energy density and efficiency. These fuel cells have garnered significant attention in energy research endeavors over the past few decades. A fuel cell undergoes electrochemical mechanism that transforms the chemical energy of a fuel into electrical energy by chemical reactions at the electrode junction through an electrolyte. The primary reactions within a fuel cell involve the oxidation of fuel at the anode and the reduction of oxygen at the cathode. Additional parts utilized to integrate MEA into a fuel cell system includes gasket to avoid gas leakage, unipolar or bipolar plates for gas distribution at the anode as well as cathode, and current collectors. newlineIn order to compete with conventional energy conversion techniques, fuel cell technologies must yield outstanding performance at an affordable price along with extended durability. Therefore, it is essential to lower its costs by decreasing the amount of platinum in the MEA, creating more affordable bipolar plates, and eliminating the need for an external humidifier in order to reduce overall expenses. Another crucial aspect that requires for improvement is the durability. newline