Perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membrane is the most common electrolyte membrane for proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). PFSA membrane is characterized by its high proton conductivity and long-term stability. The main drawbacks are its low glass transition temperature and the need of the membrane to be fully hydrated. This limits the operating temperature of PEMFC below 80oC and places the added requirement for humidification equipment resulting in complex heat and water management systems that lower the overall energy efficiency and increase the size of the unit. It is therefore important to explore new membrane materials and fuel cell architecture in order to design a compact PEMFC unit for portable electronics. The need of ancillary PEMFC components (e.g., humidification, fuel and oxygen transport equipments) and traditional planar PEMFC design are main obstacles of current PEMFC miniaturization. This work reports the use of a new self-humidifying proton conducting membrane based on the confinement of PFSA within a sub-nanoliter volume surrounded by water-retaining zeolite walls. The new membrane was used to construct a miniature cylindrical PEMFC. New cathode design, fuel transport elements and membrane-electrode assembly structure were employed to achieve a compact design capable of generating twice the power density of a planar PEMFC using same membrane and cathode materials. The new PEMFC can deliver 12 times more energy than a similar device made from commercial Nafion 117 membrane.

Design and performance of a cylindrical, self-humidifying, and self-breathing PEMFC

248th National Meeting (2014)

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