Preparation of Onion Carbon-Based Bipolar Plate and Its Application in PEMFCs

Abstract

Abstract: Metal-core carbon nano-onions (CNOs) with uniform size(50~140 nm) were prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method with methane as carbon source. The synthesized CNOs were purified by microwave heating to obtain an onion carbon material with a purity of 99%, and it was used as conductive bipolar plate in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) stack. The characterization and analysis of CNOs show that the synthesized CNOs are embedded with Fe-Ni nanoparticles. The contact angle test reveals that the wetting angle of the onion carbon-based bipolar plate manufactured by injection molding is less than 91°, and the hydrophilicity is enhanced compared to the commercial graphite bipolar plate, which is helpful to electron transmission. The output power of the stack formed using onion carbon-based bipolar plates reaches 58 W at 13.2 V, which is 21% greater than that of the commercial graphite bipolar plate stack (48 W), according to the endurance and power test of the self-breathing stack. Onion carbon-based composites have been shown in studies to enhance the power density, efficiency, and longevity of PEMFCs stack.

Key words: carbon nano-onion, bipolar plate, PEMFC, output power, self-breathing stack

CLC Number:

CHEN Liuling, ZHANG Weike, ZHANG Lan, LIANG Zhuanzhuan, GAO Bowen, LI Qiwang. Preparation of Onion Carbon-Based Bipolar Plate and Its Application in PEMFCs[J]. JOURNAL OF SYNTHETIC CRYSTALS, 2023, 52(11): 1989-1996.

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