Performance enhancement in bendable fuel cell using highly conductive Ag nanowires

• We propose a novel concept and an asymmetric assembly method of bendable fuel cell.
• The best performance ever reported in terms of power density (82 mW cm−2).
• We report simple and highly scalable fabrication processes to extend active area.

Flexible polymer electrolyte fuel cells are made of novel current collectors including highly conductive metal nanowires with extremely high stretchability. Endplates with flexible current collectors maximize clamping forces under bent conditions, which is beneficial in reducing ohmic resistances. These cells show an increased power density as the radius of curvature of the cell decreases. Cells in an asymmetric configuration, where the thicknesses of plates at the anode and cathode sides are different, shows higher power density than symmetric cells because of enhanced normal pressure, and thus, decreased ohmic loss under a given cell curvature. The peak power density of a highly bent stack with a bending radius of 15.6 cm is measured to be actually larger than a flat stack by 95%.

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