The effect of electrode parameters on the performance of anion exchange polymer membrane fuel cells

Abstract An investigation of several electrode parameters on performance of an alkaline membrane fuel cell is described. The studied parameters were: ionomer content, anode and cathode catalyst layer thickness, electrode aminating agent and membrane thickness. It was found that an optimum ionomer content depended on a balance between the OH − ion/water mobility and the oxygen solubility/diffusivity through it and which varied with temperature. Thick catalyst layers were necessary for the anode as thin anode catalyst layers suffered from flooding. 40%Pt/C provided the best thickness (with loading of 0.4 mg Pt  cm −2 ) for cathodes operating with air. An aminated low density poly(ethylene- co -vinyl benzyl chloride) (LDPE-VBC) membrane was shown to be a good membrane for an alkaline membrane fuel cell, giving conductivities up to 0.13 S cm −1 at 80 °C. A Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) utilizing this membrane with fully hydrated thickness of 57 μm produced good peak power density, at a high potential of 500 mV, of 337 mW cm −2 with air (1 bar gauge) at 60 °C.