Runzhang Yuan

Single Cell Performance of Catalyst Coated Membrane Based on Superthin Proton Exchange Membrane

The superthin PEM (≤ 30 μm in thickness) can be used in CCMs (Catalyst coated membranes) and helpful to lower the cost of fuel cells. In this paper, the CCM based on Nafion NRE® 211 membrane (thickness ∼25 μm) was prepared and assembled into a single fuel cell. The activation time, the V-I curves and the voltage vs time plot were used to characterize the performance of CCMs under variuos hydrogen/air humidifying conditions at ambient pressure. The experimental results showed that the fuel cell with CCMs based on NRE® 211 membrane had a shorter activation time and higher performance under humidifying conditions compared to that based on nafion NRE® 212 membrane (thickness ∼50 μm). However, it’s important to remove water from anode in order to maintain a stable performance of fuel cell. Moreover, the performance of the single fuel cell using superthin membranes could be improved at a high current density under non-humidifying conditions.Copyright

Performance of Direct Formic Acid Fuel Cell With Self-Assembled PEMs

Direct liquid fuel cells have attracted intensive research because of the promised application in Portable Fuel Cell Systems. Liquid fuel crossover through the proton exchange membranes (PEMs, e.g. Nafion™ membrane) is one of the major obstacles that currently prevent the widespread commercial applications of direct liquid fuel cell. In this paper, PEMs constructed by self-assembling metal nanoparticles on Nafion™ membranes were prepared to probe the crossover behaviors. The results show that the fuel crossover has a remarkable decrease comparing with the original PEMs. This satisfactory performance gives the self-assembled PEMs a promised prospect in direct liquid fuel cells.Copyright