质子交换膜燃料电池膜电极活化工艺及机理

Technology and mechanism of activation for membrane electrode assembly in proton exchange membrane fuel cell

通过质子交换膜燃料电池膜电极三种活化工艺即恒流自然活化、恒流强制活化和变流强制活化的对比研究得出 :强制活化 (包括恒流强制活化和变流强制活化 )优于自然活化 ;在强制活化工艺中 ,变流强制活化优于恒流强制活化 ;而且变流强制活化所用的时间相对于恒流强制活化及恒流自然活化均大大缩短 ,是一种比较好的活化方法 ;膜电极的活化过程不仅仅是一种质子交换膜的加湿过程 ,而且是一个包括电子、质子、气体和水的传输通道的建立以及电极结构的优化的复杂过程。

Three activation technologies, i.e. the natural activation at constant current, the forced activation at constant current and the forced activation at varied current, for membrane electrode assembly (MEA) in proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) were studied by comparison. The results show that the effect of forced activation (at either constant current or varied current) is better than that of natural activation. Moreover, the effect of the forced activation at varied current is better than that at constant current. The forced activation at varied current spends far less time than either the natural activation at constant current or the forced activation at constant current. The activation process of MEA is not only a humidifying process of proton exchange membrane, but also a complex process including the building of transport channels for electron, proton, gas and water and the optimization of electrode structure.