Analysis of phase of water produced by cell reaction with a circumstance close to chemical equilibrium

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The phase of production water in polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) is clarified based on the measurement of open circuit voltage (OCV). The measured OCV is corrected with considering short circuit current and Tafel equation, and the comparison between the OCV thus corrected and theoretical OCV determines the water phase if it is liquid or gas. The corrected OCV shows the same tendency with Nernst equation, where higher temperature and humidity decrease the OCV. Especially, the corrected OCV locates within the theoretical equilibrium voltages between gas and liquid production cases, and it approaches the theoretical one in the liquid production case with the increase of the humidity. This characteristics suggest that higher humidity promote the water production in liquid phase. These obtained results are thought to be worth for an optimization of water management required in PEFC.