Effects of hydrophobic agent content in macro-porous substrates on the fracture behavior of the gas diffusion layer for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Although the adhesion between the macro-porous substrate (MPS) and micro-porous layer (MPL) of a gas diffusion layer (GDL) is a critical factor that affects the reliability and durability of proton exchange membrane fuel cells, systematic studies quantifying the interfacial fracture energy of GDL have not yet been reported. Therefore, in this study, the interfacial fracture energy of GDLs with different contents of hydrophobic agents in the MPS is quantitatively measured. GDL samples with 0, 5, 10, and 20 wt% of hydrophobic agent content are tested using double cantilever beam fracture mechanics tests. It is observed that the interfacial fracture energy of the GDLs increases as the content of hydrophobic agent increases, due to more favorable interactions between the hydrophobic agents of the MPL and MPS. Optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscope analyses are performed on the bare and delaminated surfaces in order to investigate the mechanism of the interfacial fracture energy increase of the GDLs.