Fabrication and Characterization of Tuneable Flow-Channel/Gas-Diffusion-Layer Interface for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells
Fabrication and Characterization of Tuneable Flow-Channel/Gas-Diffusion-Layer Interface for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells
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DOI：
10.1115/1.4044814
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发表时间：
2020-02
影响因子：
2.5
通讯作者：
Deepashree Thumbarathy;G. Gupta;M. Mamlouk;P. Das
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Deepashree Thumbarathy;G. Gupta;M. Mamlouk;P. Das
聚合物电解质燃料电池（pefc）中的气体扩散层（GDL）及其与流道、微孔层或催化剂层的界面在电池的水管理和散热中起着重要的作用。GDL的表面形态和表面润湿性都影响和控制着pefc中的水分输送。因此，表面形态和表面润湿性的选择性对pefc提供最佳输出至关重要。在这项研究中，我们报道了具有选择性润湿模式的gdl的制备。Sigracet®GDL作为底物，使用两种不同的单体，添加气相二氧化硅（Si）和氟化乙丙烯（FEP）的聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）在GDL表面上打印选择性图案。通过静态接触角、滑动角和扫描电镜图像对印制的GDL表面进行了评价，结果表明FEP和PDMS-Si涂层均实现了超疏水性。傅里叶变换红外光谱分析证实了两种涂层中官能团的成功引入。最后，利用孔径分布、滑动角测量和粘附力来研究水滴与GDL表面之间的相互作用。本研究结果表明，本方法提供了一种新颖而简单的方法来调节具有选择性润湿特性的GDL表面并获得超疏水界面。电化学结果表明，具有图形化GDL/流道界面的pefc的性能可以得到改善。
Gas diffusion layer (GDL) and its interfaces with the flow-channel and microporous layer or catalyst layer in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) play a significant role in water management and heat removal from the cells. Both surface morphology and surface wettability of GDL influence and control the water transport in PEFCs. Thus, the surface morphology and selectivity of its surface wettability are critical for PEFCs to provide optimum outputs. In this study, we have reported the fabrications of GDLs with a selective wetting pattern. Sigracet® GDLs were used as a substrate and two different monomers, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) added with fumed silica (Si) and fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP), were used to print a selective pattern on the GDL surfaces. The evaluations of printed GDL surfaces, by means of static contact angle, sliding angles, and scanning electron microscopy image show that superhydrophobicity was achieved with both FEP and PDMS-Si coatings. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis confirmed the successful introduction of the functional groups in both the coatings. Finally, pore size distributions, sliding angle measurements, and adhesion forces were used to investigate the interactions between the water droplets and GDL surfaces. The results of this study demonstrate that the present approach provides a novel but simple way to tune GDL surfaces with selective wetting properties and obtain superhydrophobic interfaces. The electrochemical results showed that an improvement can be achieved for the performance of PEFCs with patterned GDL/flow-channel interfaces.