Abstract
The polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) gas-diffusion layer (GDL) is the critical bridging component between the bipolar plate flow-field and elec-trocatalyst layer. It must participate in all mass-transport processes of a PEFC. These consist primarily of reactant transport and liquid-water handling – either excess water removal to prevent catalyst-layer flooding under humidified conditions or suppression of water removal to prevent membrane dehydration under subsaturated conditions. Other requirements of a GDL include electron collection and transport, and sharing stack compression load with the cell gaskets. To achieve this broad range of functions, state-of-the-art GDLs consist of a complex, porous composite network of graphite fibers, carbon particles, and hydrophobic fluoropolymer. They are manufactured via a series of intricate processing steps, all of which can affect the final properties of the GDL, and may contain several discrete layers in the final form. The most popular configuration is a bilayer structure with the macroporous substrate facing the flow field and a microporous layer (MPL) facing the catalyst layer. All properties of the GDL must be preserved within the PEFC operating environment to ensure required stack lifetimes and power densities. This chapter discusses GDL substrate processing variables, hydrophobic posttreatments, MPL addition, and material selection in the context of their affects on long-term PEFC performance, i.e., loss of hydrophobicity, loss of MPL material, carbon corrosion, increase in mass-transport resistance, etc. Advanced physical property characterization methods are shown and are related to durability data. Finally, considerations for improving GDL durability and extending membrane lifetime under dry operating conditions through novel GDL designs are discussed.
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Wood, D.L., Borup, R.L. (2009). Durability Aspects of Gas-Diffusion and Microporous Layers. In: Büchi, F.N., Inaba, M., Schmidt, T.J. (eds) Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Durability. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-85536-3_8
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