Degradation of a polymer exchange membrane fuel cell stack with Nafion® membranes of different thicknesses: Part I. In situ diagnosis

The durability of polymer exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, under a wide range of operational conditions, has been attracting intensive attention, as durability is one of the largest barriers for commercialization of this promising technology. In the present work, membrane electrode assembly (MEA) degradation of a four-cell stack with Nafion membranes of different thicknesses, including N117, N115, NR212, and NR211, was carried out for 1000 h under idle conditions. By means of several on-line electrochemical measurements, the performance of the individual cells was analyzed at different times during the degradation process. The results indicate that the cells with thinner membranes have a lower open circuit voltage (OCV) due to the higher fuel crossover. Before degradation, the thickness of the membranes correlates with performance of the cell. However, with the advancement of degradation, the performance of cells with thinner membranes degraded much faster than those with thicker membranes, especially after 800 h of operation. The fast performance degradation for thinner membranes is evident by a dramatic increase in hydrogen crossover indicating membrane thinning or pinhole formation.