Photometric Method to Determine Membrane Degradation in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

Mathias Heidinger, Eveline Kuhnert, Kurt Mayer, Daniel Sandu, Viktor Hacker () and Merit Bodner
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Mathias Heidinger: Institute of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 25/C, 8010 Graz, Austria
Eveline Kuhnert: Institute of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 25/C, 8010 Graz, Austria
Kurt Mayer: Institute of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 25/C, 8010 Graz, Austria
Daniel Sandu: AiDEXA GmbH, Bergmanngasse 45 T10, 8010 Graz, Austria
Viktor Hacker: Institute of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 25/C, 8010 Graz, Austria
Merit Bodner: Institute of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 25/C, 8010 Graz, Austria

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: A new method for measuring membrane degradation in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) is proposed. The method is based on the detection of fluoride ions in effluent water from the cathode- and anode outlet of the PEFC using photometry (PM). The fluoride emission rate (FER) is an indicator of the membrane’s state of health (SoH) and can be used to measure the chemical membrane degradation. Commercial catalyst-coated membranes (CCMs) have been tested at 80 °C and 90 °C at 30% relative humidity (RH) to investigate the reliability of the developed method for fuel cell effluent samples. To verify the measurement, a mean-difference plot was created by measuring the same data with a fluorine selective electrode. The average difference was at ±0.13 nmol h −1 cm −2 , which indicates good agreement between the two methods. These new findings imply that PM is a promising method for quick and simple assessment of membrane degradation in PEM technology.

Keywords: PEFC; membrane degradation; fluoride emission; photometry; membrane state-of-health; catalyst coated membrane; analytical method development; fuel cell effluent water (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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