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Graphite foil based assembled bipolar plates for polymer electrolyte fuel cells

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An Erratum to this article was published on 29 December 2012

Abstract

Graphite foil has been considered as a promising bipolar plate material in polymer electrolyte fuel cells due to its high electrical conductance and high corrosion resistance as well as low manufacturing costs. However, the highly flexible character of graphite foil led to physical deformation under external mechanical and thermal stimuli during fuel cell operations. In this study, we show a modified bipolar plate to overcome the weakness by combining with a mechanically sturdy component — polycarbonate plate. A unit cell with the assembled bipolar plates showed stable powering behaviors under thermal cycling. There was no significant difference in ohmic resistance between a unit cell with the assembled bipolar plates and a unit cell with graphite plates.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Intelligent Convergence Systems, Seoul National University, Daehak-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 151-742

    Sanghoon Ji & Ikwhang Chang

  2. Fuel Cell Vehicle Team, Hyundai Motor Company, 104 Mabuk-dong, Giheung-gu, Yongin, South Korea, 446-912

    Yong-Sheen Hwang

  3. School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, Daehak-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 151-742

    Taehyun Park, Yoon Ho Lee, Jun Yeol Paek & Suk Won Cha

  4. School of Engineering, University of California, Merced, 5200 North Lake Road, Merced, CA, 95343, USA

    Min Hwan Lee

Authors
  1. Sanghoon Ji
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  2. Yong-Sheen Hwang
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  3. Taehyun Park
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  4. Yoon Ho Lee
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  5. Jun Yeol Paek
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  6. Ikwhang Chang
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  7. Min Hwan Lee
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  8. Suk Won Cha
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Correspondence to Suk Won Cha.

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Ji, S., Hwang, YS., Park, T. et al. Graphite foil based assembled bipolar plates for polymer electrolyte fuel cells. Int. J. Precis. Eng. Manuf. 13, 2183–2186 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-012-0289-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-012-0289-7

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