Abstract

TEIXEIRA, Ana C.; PINTO, Diogo; SILVA, Vasco  and  COLACO, Rogério. Análise do desempenho de pilhas de combustível do tipo pemfc com cátodo aberto ao ar. C.Tecn. Mat. [online]. 2007, vol.19, n.3-4, pp.08-14. ISSN 0870-8312.

This work is focused on the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack, model 10SR4-A from SRE - Soluções Racionais de Energia, SA. It is a stack composed of 8 cells, with nominal power of 10 W and its most remarking characteristic consist of an open-air cathode while hydrogen is supplied to the anode in a dead-end mode. In order to study the performance and aging effects on morphological features of the Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) stacks were assembled and tested in a real life functioning situation under ambient pressure and temperature. The stacks were operated under steady load for different lengths of time: 808h, 1503h and 2126h. Stacks performance was studied by examining the stacks polarization curves. After the lifetime tests, the MEA’s from the cells that presented better and worst individual voltage, for each stack, were taken for characterization by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).

Keywords : Fuel Cells; PEMFC; MEA; Degradation; SEM; Morphology.

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