Model for the multicomponent gas diffusion in a fuel cell porous electrode

A simple analytically solvable model for the diffusion of a multicomponent vapor-air mixture is proposed. The model, which accurately accounts for the oxygen and water balance on the gas diffusion cathode of a fuel cell, is used for computing polarization characteristics of a fuel cell with a polymer electrolyte. An analytical solution for the cathodic overvoltage in the extreme cases of high and low current densities is derived. The results are compared with the available theoretical and experimental data. It is shown that the solutions of the proposed model coincide with the solutions provided by the Bernardi-Verbrugge model, which is far more involved.