Characterization of membrane electrode assemblies for high-temperature PEM fuel cells

This paper will present the characterization of two types of membrane-electrode-assemblies (MEAs) for high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFC) working under reformate stream. The important aspects to be considered in the characterization of these MEAs are: (i) presence of contaminants, and (ii) composition of the anode. Start/stop cycling test were performed for two different Dapozol® MEAs using different GDL materials, using first hydrogen and then synthetic reformate as a fuel gas, both with a dew point of 80 °C. With these results the influence of contaminants present in the reformate was compared for the two types of MEAs, showing the superior performance of the Dapozol® 101 MEA under these conditions. The possibility to further enhance the MEAs' resilience against the operation of reformates by changing the anode catalyst composition was evaluated in a half MEA configuration, considering that the impact of the H2S present in the fuel presents a major issue. For this reason the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) was evaluated for two types of Pt-based electrocatalysts in an anodic half MEA configuration using different hydrogen-rich fuel mixtures. These results provide valuable information for the optimization of the MEA and the anode catalyst for HT-PEMFC.