Next-Generation
Polymer-Electrolyte-Membrane Fuel Cells Using Titanium Foam as Gas
Diffusion Layer
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Abstract
In spite of their high conversion
efficiency and no emission of greenhouse gases, polymer electrolyte
membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) suffer from prohibitively high cost and
insufficient life-span of their core component system, the membrane
electrode assembly (MEA). In this paper, we are proposing Ti foam
as a promising alternative electrode material in the MEA. Indeed,
it showed a current density of 462 mA cm<sup>โ2</sup>, being
ca. 166% higher than that with the baseline Toray 060 gas diffusion
layer (GDL) (278 mA cm<sup>โ2</sup>) with 200 ccm oxygen supply
at 0.7 V, when used as the anode GDL, because of its unique three-dimensional
strut structure promoting highly efficient catalytic reactions. Furthermore,
it exhibits superior corrosion resistance with almost no thickness
and weight changes in the accelerated corrosion test, as opposed to
considerable reductions in the weight and thickness of the conventional
GDL. We believe that this paper suggests profound implications in
the commercialization of PEMFCs, because the metallic Ti foam provides
a longer-term reliability and chemical stability, which can reduce
the loss of Pt catalyst and, hence, the cost of PEMFCs