Effects of the addition of flourinated polymers and carbon nanotubes in microporous layer on the improvement of performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell

The purpose of this research is to improve the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) through two approaches. The first approach is to improve water management by using hydrophobic polymers i.e. fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) and polytetrafluoroetilene (PTFE) in the microporous layer (MPL). The second approach is to increase the conductivity properties of membrane electrode assembly (MEA) by using carbon nanotubes in MPL.The research results show that the utilization of 20%FEP in MPL gives better cell performance and durability up to 40 h than that of 20 wt.% PTFE because there is strong bonding between FEP and support layer, and it provides high hydrophobicity property inside the pore of carbon paper. The optimum composition of 50 wt.% MWCNT in MPL gives highest cell performance. The MPL with 50 wt.% SWCNT content gives lowest resistance in MPL which corresponds to an improvement of power density about 70% and 20% relative to, respectively, pure Vulcan and 50 wt.% MWCNT.