Investigation of degradation effects in polymer electrolyte fuel cells under automotive-related operating conditions

Massive cell reversal conditions occur within the single load change experiments as a result of anodic fuel starvation. As soon as a fuel starvation appears, the emitted CO2 increases exponentially in the anode and cathode exhaust. A maximal CO2 amount of 143.8 μmol CO2 on the anode side and 5.8 μmol CO2 on the cathode side is detected in the exhaust gases. The critical cell reversal conditions only occur by using hydrogen reformate as anode reactant. The influence of the starvation effects on the PEFC performance is investigated via polarization curves, cyclic and linear sweep voltammetry as well as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The PEFC performance is reduced by 47% as a consequence of the dynamic operation.