title: Electrochemically Produced Graphene for Microporous Layers in Fuel Cells.
abstract: The microporous layer (MPL) is a key cathodic component in proton exchange membrane fuel cells owing to its beneficial influence on two-phase mass transfer. However, its performance is highly dependent on material properties such as morphology, porous structure, and electrical resistance. To improve water management and performance, electrochemically exfoliated graphene (EGN) microsheets are considered as an alternative to the conventional carbon black (CB) MPLs. The EGN-based MPLs decrease the kinetic overpotential and the Ohmic potential loss, whereas the addition of CB to form a composite EGN+CB MPL improves the mass-transport limiting current density drastically. This is reflected by increases of approximately 30 and 70 % in peak power densities at 100 % relative humidity (RH) compared with those for CB- and EGN-only MPLs, respectively. The composite EGN+CB MPL also retains the superior performance at a cathode RH of 20 %, whereas the CB MPL shows significant performance loss.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Clean Energy Research Centre, University of British Columbia, 2360 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
authors.forename: Amin Taheri
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Najafabadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Clean Energy Research Centre, University of British Columbia, 2360 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
authors.forename: Magrieta J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Leeuwner
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Clean Energy Research Centre, University of British Columbia, 2360 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada. dwilkinson@chbe.ubc.ca.
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Clean Energy Research Centre, University of British Columbia, 2360 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada. egyenge@chbe.ubc.ca.
authors.forename: Előd L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Gyenge
mesh_terms: D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004563:Electrochemistry; D004566:Electrodes; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry; D016062:Porosity
chemical_list: D010087:Oxides; D006108:Graphite
keywords: electrochemistry; fuel cells; graphene; membranes; microporous materials