Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1276034 | International Journal of Hydrogen Energy | 2011 | 12 Pages |
Elastomeric materials are used as gaskets or seals in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells and stacks. These gaskets/seals in PEM fuel cells are exposed to acidic, humid air, mechanical compressive pressure and cyclic temperature environment. Both the physical and chemical long-term stabilities of these gaskets/seals are therefore crucial to the overall performance of the fuel cell. Chemical degradation of five elastomeric gasket materials in a simulated and an aggressive accelerated fuel cell solution at 80 °C up to 63 weeks was investigated in this work using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) which assesses the change of dynamic mechanical properties of the five materials samples as they aged. The storage, loss modulus, and tan δ of the materials were presented that can reveal the glass transition temperature and other properties.The five materials tested are copolymeric resin (CR), liquid silicone rubber (LSR), fluorosilicone rubber (FSR), ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (EPDM), and fluoroelastomer copolymer (FKM).