Durability and cost are the two major factors limiting the large-scale implementation of fuel cell technology for use in commercial, residential, or transportation applications. The conditioning cost is usually negligible for making proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) at R&D or demo stage with several tens of stacks each year. However, with industry's focus shifting from component development to commercial high-volume manufacturing, the conditioning process requires significant additional capital investments and operating costs, thus becomes one of the bottlenecks for PEMFC manufacturing, particularly at a high production volume (>1000 stack/year). To understand the mechanisms behind PEMFC conditioning, and to potentially reduce conditioning time or even to eliminate the conditioning process, the conditioning behaviors of commercial Nafion™ XL100 and Nafion® NRE 211 membranes were studied. The potential effects of the membrane additive on fuel cell conditioning were diagnosed using in situ electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). It was found that the membrane additive led to the significant variation of the charge transfer resistance in EIS during conditioning, which affected the conditioning behavior of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA).
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February 2019
Research-Article
Understanding of Nafion Membrane Additive Behaviors in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Conditioning
Nana Zhao,
Nana Zhao
Energy, Mining & Environment Research Centre,
National Research Council Canada,
4250 Wesbrook Mall,
Vancouver V6T 1W5, BC, Canada
National Research Council Canada,
4250 Wesbrook Mall,
Vancouver V6T 1W5, BC, Canada
Search for other works by this author on:
Zhong Xie,
Zhong Xie
Energy, Mining & Environment Research Centre,
National Research Council Canada,
4250 Wesbrook Mall,
Vancouver V6T 1W5, BC Canada
National Research Council Canada,
4250 Wesbrook Mall,
Vancouver V6T 1W5, BC Canada
Search for other works by this author on:
Zhiqing Shi
Zhiqing Shi
Energy, Mining & Environment Research Centre,
National Research Council Canada,
Vancouver V6T 1W5, BC, Canada
e-mail: ken.shi@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
National Research Council Canada,
4250 Wesbrook Mall
,Vancouver V6T 1W5, BC, Canada
e-mail: ken.shi@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
Search for other works by this author on:
Nana Zhao
Energy, Mining & Environment Research Centre,
National Research Council Canada,
4250 Wesbrook Mall,
Vancouver V6T 1W5, BC, Canada
National Research Council Canada,
4250 Wesbrook Mall,
Vancouver V6T 1W5, BC, Canada
Zhong Xie
Energy, Mining & Environment Research Centre,
National Research Council Canada,
4250 Wesbrook Mall,
Vancouver V6T 1W5, BC Canada
National Research Council Canada,
4250 Wesbrook Mall,
Vancouver V6T 1W5, BC Canada
Zhiqing Shi
Energy, Mining & Environment Research Centre,
National Research Council Canada,
Vancouver V6T 1W5, BC, Canada
e-mail: ken.shi@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
National Research Council Canada,
4250 Wesbrook Mall
,Vancouver V6T 1W5, BC, Canada
e-mail: ken.shi@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
Manuscript received April 19, 2018; final manuscript received July 3, 2018; published online August 6, 2018. Assoc. Editor: Dirk Henkensmeier.
J. Electrochem. En. Conv. Stor. Feb 2019, 16(1): 011011 (5 pages)
Published Online: August 6, 2018
Article history
Received:
April 19, 2018
Revised:
July 3, 2018
Citation
Zhao, N., Xie, Z., and Shi, Z. (August 6, 2018). "Understanding of Nafion Membrane Additive Behaviors in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Conditioning." ASME. J. Electrochem. En. Conv. Stor. February 2019; 16(1): 011011. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4040827
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