Hydrogen Transport through Palladium Foil Placed in Nafion Electrolyte of H₂/O₂ Fuel Cellsorption

Placing a hydrogen conducting, methanol impermeable metallic barrier like palladium (Pd) is a well-known method for preventing methanol crossover through solid polymer electrolyte for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC). Applying a bias potential between the anode and the barrier can further develop this concept so that the hydrogen transfer rate is enhanced. Since hydrogen diffuses in Pd as atomic form while it moves through nafion electrolyte as ion, it has to be reduced or oxidized whenever it passes the interface formed by Pd and the electrolyte. We performed experiments to measure the hydrogen transport through the Pd membrane placed in Nafion electrolyte of hydrogen/oxygen fuel cell (PEMFC). Applying a bias potential between the hydrogen electrode of the cell and the Pd membrane facilitated the hydrogen passage through the Pd membrane. The results show that the cell current measured with the Pd membrane placed reached almost 40 % the value measured with the cell without Pd membrane. It was found that the current flown through the bias path is only a few percent of the cell current.