Improvement of MEAs for Direct-Methanol Fuel Cells by Tuned Layer Preparation and Coating Technology

✍ Scribed by A. Lindermeir; G. Rosenthal; U. Kunz; U. Hoffmann

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2004
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 323 KB
• Volume: 4
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1615-6846
• DOI: 10.1002/fuce.200400001

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Large scale production of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) for fuel cells requires a fabrication technology, which is not only based on electrochemical phenomena but also takes into account aspects of materials processing and conversion. For the fabrication of MEAs for DMFC a production sequence consisting of wet ball‐milling, wet spray coating and calendering was developed at the ICVT Clausthal. This has a proven ability for the preparation of diffusion backings and catalyst layers with high reproducibility. To improve MEA performance, investigations concerning the influence of layer fabrication and composition are made with respect to the resulting morphology of the structures. Intermediates and MEAs are evaluated by conductivity measurements, determination of permeability values and current density‐voltage characteristics supported by SEM and optical microscopy.