Abstract
Carbon/carbon-composite bipolar plates for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) have been fabricated by slurry molding a chopped-fiber preform followed by sealing with chemically vapor-infiltrated carbon. The resulting component is hermetic with respect to through-thickness leakage and has a high electronic conductivity (200-300 S/cm) as a result of the deposited graphitic carbon. The material has a low density (0.96 g/cm3) due to retained porosity resulting in a low-weight component. Biaxial flexure strength was measured to be 175±26 MPa. Cell testing of a 100 cm2 active area, single-sided plate indicated very low cell resistance and high efficiency, but with a somewhat steep drop-off in voltage with current at high values. Corrosion testing indicated minimal corrosion in fuel cell environments.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 4083-4086 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Journal of the Electrochemical Society |
Volume | 147 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 2000 |