• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.51 no.4
• /
• pp.271-277
• /
• 2014

To overcome the limitations of the solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) due to the high temperature operation, there has been increasing interest in proton conducting fuel cells (PCFCs) for reduction of the operating temperature to the intermediate temperature range. In present work, the perovskite $BaCe_{0.85-x}Zr_xY_{0.15}O_{3-\delta}$ (BCZY, x = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7) were synthesized via solid state reaction (SSR) and adopted as an electrolyte materials for PCFCs. Powder characteristics were examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) surface area analysis. Single phase BCZY were obtained in all compositions, and chemical stability was improved with increasing Zr content. Anode-supported cell with $Ni-BaCe_{0.55}Z_{0.3}Y_{0.15}O_{3-\delta}$ (BCZY3) anode, BCZY3 electrolyte and BCZY3-$Ba_{0.5}Sr_{0.5}Co_{0.8}Fe_{0.2}O_{3-\delta}$ (BSCF) composite cathode was fabricated and electrochemically characterized. Open-circuit voltage (OCV) was 1.05 V, and peak power density of 370 ($mW/cm^2$) was achieved at $650^{\circ}C$.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.61 no.1
• /
• pp.45-51
• /
• 2023

In order to improve the durability of the PEMFC(Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells) polymer membrane, a radical scavenger and a support are used. In this study, the durability of membranes containing fucoidan extracted from seaweeds and tannic acid serving as a crosslinking agent is evaluated to improve chemical and physical durability. Physical durability is evaluated by measuring tensile strength, and chemical durability is measured by Fenton experiment. Membrane and electrode assembly (MEA) is prepared and mechanical and chemical durability are measured through accelerated durability evaluation in the cell. The tensile strength measurement showed that fucoidan and tannic acid can improve the mechanical durability of the membrane by improving the strain rate and yield strength. It is shown in Fenton experiment that fucoidan acts as a radical scavenger. As a result of the accelerated durability test in the unit cell, fucoidan improved both chemical and mechanical durability, increasing the accelerated durability evaluation time by 38.1% compared to the additive-free membrane. When tannic acid is added, the durability of the polymer membrane is improved by 13.9% by improving the mechanical durability.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.61 no.3
• /
• pp.362-367
• /
• 2023

Recently, research and development of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) membranes are progressing in the direction of thinning to reduce prices and improve performance. Demand for hydrogen-powered vehicles for commercial vehicles is also increasing, and their durability should be five times greater than those for passenger vehicles. Despite the thinning of the membranes, the durability of the membranes must be increased five times, so the improvement of the durability of the membranes has become more important. Since the acceleration durability evaluation time also needs to be shortened, the protocol using oxygen instead of air in the existing protocol was applied to a 10 ㎛ thin membrane to evaluate durability. The accelerated durability test (Open circuit voltage holding) was terminated at 720 hours. If the air-based department of energy (DOE) protocol was used, a lifespan of 450,000 km of driving hours would be expected, with a durability of about 1,500 hours. During the chemical durability evaluation, the active area of the electrode decreased by 51%, suggesting that catalyst degradation had an effect on membrane durability. Reducing the catalyst degradation rate is expected to increase membrane durability.