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Degradation Characteristics of Elastomeric Gasket Materials in a Simulated PEM Fuel Cell Environment

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Abstract

Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack requires gaskets and seals in each cell to keep the reactant gases (hydrogen and oxygen) within their respective regions. The stability of the gaskets/seals is critical to the operating life as well as the electrochemical performance of the fuel cell. The time-dependant chemical and mechanical degradation of two commercially available silicones-based elastomeric gasket materials in a simulated fuel cell environment was investigated in this work. Two temperatures based on actual fuel cell operation were selected and used in this study. Using optical microscopy, the topographical damage on the sample surface due to the acidic environment was revealed. Atomic adsorption spectrometer analysis shows that silicon, calcium, and magnesium were leached from the materials into the soaking solution. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to study the surface chemistry of the elastomeric gasket materials before and after exposure to the simulated fuel cell environment over time. The ATR-FTIR and XPS test results indicate that the surface chemistry changed significantly and the chemical degradation mechanism is de-crosslinking and chain scission in the backbone. The microindentation test results show that the mechanical properties of the silicone materials changed significantly after exposure to the simulated PEM fuel cell environment over time.

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Acknowledgments

The work was sponsored by the NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Fuel Cells at the University of South Carolina. Encouragement from the industry partners and financial support from the center were greatly appreciated. The assistance from Drs. Xiaodong Li, Xinnan Wang, Woo-Kum Lee, and C. C. Stork is acknowledged.

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Author notes

  1. Jinzhu Tan & Min Yang

    Present address: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of South Carolina, 300 S. Main, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Nanjing University of Technology, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210009, China

    Jinzhu Tan

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of South Carolina, 300 S. Main, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    Y.J. Chao

  3. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, Sandong, 250061, China

    Min Yang

  4. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of South Carolina, 300 S. Main, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    C.T. Williams & J.W. Van Zee

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  1. Jinzhu Tan
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  2. Y.J. Chao
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Correspondence to Y.J. Chao.

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Tan, J., Chao, Y., Yang, M. et al. Degradation Characteristics of Elastomeric Gasket Materials in a Simulated PEM Fuel Cell Environment. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 17, 785–792 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-008-9233-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-008-9233-5

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