Abstract
Our approach for elevating the operational temperature of PEM fuel cells above 100°C is to use inorganic particles inside a composite membrane. Inorganic components tend to enhance water retention at elevated temperatures and can reduce undesirable crossover processes. In this study, we compared the properties of the Nafion®/TiO2 composite membranes fabricated from Nafion® polymers with different ion exchange capacity (IEC) - 0.91 meq/g and 1.08 meq/g. The main objective was to find a balance between the membrane IEC and the TiO2 content for optimal fuel cell performance. The membranes were tested for swelling, conductivity, and fuel cell performance under different relative humidity at 120°C. The membranes with IEC of 1.08 meq/g demonstrated better transport properties and much higher performance in a PEMFC. However, excessive swelling of membranes with IEC of 1.08 meq/g caused instability in performance at high current densities and this can be detrimental to membrane durability. copyright The Electrochemical Society.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 73-82 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | ECS Transactions |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 1 2006 |
| Event | Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells 6 - 210th Electrochemical Society Meeting - Cancun, Mexico Duration: Oct 29 2006 → Nov 3 2006 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Engineering(all)
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Nafion®/TiO2 composite membranes for PEM fuel cells operating at elevated temperature and reduced relative humidity. / Chalkova, Elena; Rybka, Gregory M.; Fedkin, Mark Valentinovich; Wesolowski, David J.; Roelofs, Mark G.; Lvov, Serguei.
In: ECS Transactions, Vol. 3, No. 1, 01.12.2006, p. 73-82.Research output: Contribution to journal › Conference article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Nafion®/TiO2 composite membranes for PEM fuel cells operating at elevated temperature and reduced relative humidity
AU - Chalkova, Elena
AU - Rybka, Gregory M.
AU - Fedkin, Mark Valentinovich
AU - Wesolowski, David J.
AU - Roelofs, Mark G.
AU - Lvov, Serguei
PY - 2006/12/1
Y1 - 2006/12/1
N2 - Our approach for elevating the operational temperature of PEM fuel cells above 100°C is to use inorganic particles inside a composite membrane. Inorganic components tend to enhance water retention at elevated temperatures and can reduce undesirable crossover processes. In this study, we compared the properties of the Nafion®/TiO2 composite membranes fabricated from Nafion® polymers with different ion exchange capacity (IEC) - 0.91 meq/g and 1.08 meq/g. The main objective was to find a balance between the membrane IEC and the TiO2 content for optimal fuel cell performance. The membranes were tested for swelling, conductivity, and fuel cell performance under different relative humidity at 120°C. The membranes with IEC of 1.08 meq/g demonstrated better transport properties and much higher performance in a PEMFC. However, excessive swelling of membranes with IEC of 1.08 meq/g caused instability in performance at high current densities and this can be detrimental to membrane durability. copyright The Electrochemical Society.
AB - Our approach for elevating the operational temperature of PEM fuel cells above 100°C is to use inorganic particles inside a composite membrane. Inorganic components tend to enhance water retention at elevated temperatures and can reduce undesirable crossover processes. In this study, we compared the properties of the Nafion®/TiO2 composite membranes fabricated from Nafion® polymers with different ion exchange capacity (IEC) - 0.91 meq/g and 1.08 meq/g. The main objective was to find a balance between the membrane IEC and the TiO2 content for optimal fuel cell performance. The membranes were tested for swelling, conductivity, and fuel cell performance under different relative humidity at 120°C. The membranes with IEC of 1.08 meq/g demonstrated better transport properties and much higher performance in a PEMFC. However, excessive swelling of membranes with IEC of 1.08 meq/g caused instability in performance at high current densities and this can be detrimental to membrane durability. copyright The Electrochemical Society.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33846944986&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=33846944986&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1149/1.2356125
DO - 10.1149/1.2356125
M3 - Conference article
AN - SCOPUS:33846944986
VL - 3
SP - 73
EP - 82
JO - ECS Transactions
JF - ECS Transactions
SN - 1938-5862
IS - 1
ER -