Effect of operation conditions of the MEA activation procedure on the PEMFC performance

In this study, it was demonstrated that membrane electrode assembly (MEA) conditioning at low stress conditions produces higher performance compared to MEA conditioning under high stress conditions,although it needs more time to accomplish. The maximum power density (MPD) of 1600 mW cm-2 wasachieved by the MEA activated at low temperature and pressure (MEA-LTP) compared to the MEA activated at high temperature and pressure (MEA-HTP) in the same operating conditions, 1090 mW cm-2, whiles the MEA structure of both cells was identical. Comparison of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy responses (EIS) of MEA-LTP and MEA-HTP indicated that an extension of the triple phase boundary was occurred in MEA-LTP, which is consistence to the results of the MEA performance analysis

Keywords:

Activation conditions , Performance analysis , Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy , Membrane electrode assembly , PEM fuel cell