Changes in the wettability of polymer electrolyte fuel cells components during cationic contamination and mitigation

Foreign cations are shown to cause mass transport losses, in particular due to wettability changes in the micro-porous layers (MPL) and the carbon paper substrate, and have a major impact on the durability and the performance of polymer electrolyte fuel cells. We studied the effects of cationic impurities on fuel cell system performance, especially on the water management by employing in-situ and ex-situ contamination methods. Changes in the wettability of the carbon paper surface following the in-situ contamination injection were quantified using the Wilhelmy plate method. The CaSO4 precipitation on the macro-pores of the carbon paper substrate after the contamination injection causes a higher wettability leading to increased flooding of the carbon paper substrate and consequent mass transport losses. An ex-situ cleaning with an acid solution is shown to be very effective in removing the salt deposits of the carbon paper substrate. During the mitigation, the highly hydrophobic MPL acts as a barrier to the transport of the recovery solution into the membrane-electrode assembly (MEA), therefore isopropanol (IPA) was added to both the contaminant solution and the recovery solution to increase the wettability of the MPL. Wetting force measurements confirm that the added IPA can alter the wettability of the MPL and can render it fully hydrophilic, enabling the transport of the recovery solution into the MEA.