Impact of gas diffusion layers (GDLs) on MEA performance in PEFCs

We examined the effect of the hydrophobic/hydrophilic nature of the microporous layer (MPL) on membrane–electrode assembly (MEA) performance. The MEA using a hydrophilic MPL showed much better performance in a wide range of pressure and humidity conditions than that using a hydrophobic MPL. In the MEA operation without humidification, the MEA using a hydrophobic MPL showed a rapid drop in cell voltage with a rise in temperature, whereas the MEA employing a hydrophilic MPL maintained fairly high cell voltage even at 95 °C, suggesting that the hydrophilic MPL helps prevent drying out of the membrane under the dry condition.