Intensification of proton conductivity through polymer electrolytic membrane using novel electrode pattern

The performance of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell is contingent on the focal property of the protonic conductivity to accelerate the electrochemical reaction based on the membrane activity or on the uniform and even distribution of the reactants. For the even distribution, novel Flow Fields (FF) of the electrode pattern are obligatory to maintain the distribution for a long period for the conversion of protons from the anode reactant. In this study, a novel X Flow Field (XFF) electrode pattern is developed and compared with the conventional serpentine Flow Field (SFF) electrode pattern numerically and experimentally. The performance of the cell through the XFF electrode pattern has shown an improvement of 14.89% numerically and 14.61% experimentally as it distributes the reactants evenly to accelerate the electrochemical reaction, and induce a lower pressure drop and lower water saturation. The effect of pressure and Mass Flow Rate (MFR) of the reactants on the cell performance is discussed and it is found that the increment in Power Density (PD) of the cell is proportional to the increment of the MFR and the pressure because of the even distribution of the reactants, better membrane protonic conductivity, enhancement of the electrode kinetics and improvement in the mass transfer.