The Role of Fluorinated Polymers in the Water Management of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: A Review
As the hydrogen market is projected to grow in the next decades, the development of more efficient and better-performing polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is certainly needed. Water management is one of the main issues faced by these devices and is strictly related to the employment o...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-12-01
|
| Series: | Energies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/24/8387 |
| _version_ | 1797505039133048832 |
|---|---|
| author | Marco Mariani Andrea Basso Peressut Saverio Latorrata Riccardo Balzarotti Maurizio Sansotera Giovanni Dotelli |
| author_facet | Marco Mariani Andrea Basso Peressut Saverio Latorrata Riccardo Balzarotti Maurizio Sansotera Giovanni Dotelli |
| author_sort | Marco Mariani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As the hydrogen market is projected to grow in the next decades, the development of more efficient and better-performing polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is certainly needed. Water management is one of the main issues faced by these devices and is strictly related to the employment of fluorinated materials in the gas diffusion medium (GDM). Fluorine-based polymers are added as hydrophobic agents for gas diffusion layers (GDL) or in the ink composition of microporous layers (MPL), with the goal of reducing the risk of membrane dehydration and cell flooding. In this review, the state of the art of fluorinated polymers for fuel cells is presented. The most common ones are polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP), however, other compounds such as PFA, PVDF, PFPE, and CF<sub>4</sub> have been studied and reported. The effects of these materials on device performances are analyzed and described. Particular attention is dedicated to the influence of polymer content on the variation of the fuel cell component properties, namely conductivity, durability, hydrophobicity, and porosity, and on the PEMFC behavior at different current densities and under multiple operating conditions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:12:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4855dfbe232d47abb50dd18711816c93 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:12:59Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-4855dfbe232d47abb50dd18711816c932023-11-23T08:06:35ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732021-12-011424838710.3390/en14248387The Role of Fluorinated Polymers in the Water Management of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: A ReviewMarco Mariani0Andrea Basso Peressut1Saverio Latorrata2Riccardo Balzarotti3Maurizio Sansotera4Giovanni Dotelli5Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 1, 20156 Milano, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “G. Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “G. Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “G. Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “G. Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “G. Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, ItalyAs the hydrogen market is projected to grow in the next decades, the development of more efficient and better-performing polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is certainly needed. Water management is one of the main issues faced by these devices and is strictly related to the employment of fluorinated materials in the gas diffusion medium (GDM). Fluorine-based polymers are added as hydrophobic agents for gas diffusion layers (GDL) or in the ink composition of microporous layers (MPL), with the goal of reducing the risk of membrane dehydration and cell flooding. In this review, the state of the art of fluorinated polymers for fuel cells is presented. The most common ones are polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP), however, other compounds such as PFA, PVDF, PFPE, and CF<sub>4</sub> have been studied and reported. The effects of these materials on device performances are analyzed and described. Particular attention is dedicated to the influence of polymer content on the variation of the fuel cell component properties, namely conductivity, durability, hydrophobicity, and porosity, and on the PEMFC behavior at different current densities and under multiple operating conditions.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/24/8387fluorinated polymergas diffusion layermicroporous layerPEM fuel cellPTFEFEP |
| spellingShingle | Marco Mariani Andrea Basso Peressut Saverio Latorrata Riccardo Balzarotti Maurizio Sansotera Giovanni Dotelli The Role of Fluorinated Polymers in the Water Management of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: A Review Energies fluorinated polymer gas diffusion layer microporous layer PEM fuel cell PTFE FEP |
| title | The Role of Fluorinated Polymers in the Water Management of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: A Review |
| title_full | The Role of Fluorinated Polymers in the Water Management of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: A Review |
| title_fullStr | The Role of Fluorinated Polymers in the Water Management of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: A Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Role of Fluorinated Polymers in the Water Management of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: A Review |
| title_short | The Role of Fluorinated Polymers in the Water Management of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: A Review |
| title_sort | role of fluorinated polymers in the water management of proton exchange membrane fuel cells a review |
| topic | fluorinated polymer gas diffusion layer microporous layer PEM fuel cell PTFE FEP |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/24/8387 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT marcomariani theroleoffluorinatedpolymersinthewatermanagementofprotonexchangemembranefuelcellsareview AT andreabassoperessut theroleoffluorinatedpolymersinthewatermanagementofprotonexchangemembranefuelcellsareview AT saveriolatorrata theroleoffluorinatedpolymersinthewatermanagementofprotonexchangemembranefuelcellsareview AT riccardobalzarotti theroleoffluorinatedpolymersinthewatermanagementofprotonexchangemembranefuelcellsareview AT mauriziosansotera theroleoffluorinatedpolymersinthewatermanagementofprotonexchangemembranefuelcellsareview AT giovannidotelli theroleoffluorinatedpolymersinthewatermanagementofprotonexchangemembranefuelcellsareview AT marcomariani roleoffluorinatedpolymersinthewatermanagementofprotonexchangemembranefuelcellsareview AT andreabassoperessut roleoffluorinatedpolymersinthewatermanagementofprotonexchangemembranefuelcellsareview AT saveriolatorrata roleoffluorinatedpolymersinthewatermanagementofprotonexchangemembranefuelcellsareview AT riccardobalzarotti roleoffluorinatedpolymersinthewatermanagementofprotonexchangemembranefuelcellsareview AT mauriziosansotera roleoffluorinatedpolymersinthewatermanagementofprotonexchangemembranefuelcellsareview AT giovannidotelli roleoffluorinatedpolymersinthewatermanagementofprotonexchangemembranefuelcellsareview |